Total Recovery
by Renkhal
Summary: Jane gets shot, twice. And one of them may have ruined the detective's career forever. She seems to be taking it well, but is she really? In the meantime, Maura takes care of her as she deals with this new problem. With the tension of Jane's injury making her testy, will Maura be able to give in to the detective's feelings? Title and rating subject to change.
1. Chapter 1

**So I'm giving another mult-chapter story a shot for this fandom. I hope it doesn't disappoint.**

**There is at least one event that I reference in this chapter that is from "before" and might seem confusing. I kept working on it to try and make it work better, but even I'm not so sure it works. Mostly, I think Jane's a little... off... for that particular... event.**

**Anyway, I hope this is interesting. I've got a couple of different plots going, but this one seemed like the more interesting of the one's I've been working on so I want to see if I can drum up any interest to continue it.**

* * *

When her phone rang, Maura was beyond relieved. She'd been about to resort to diagnosing her date, something she tries very hard not to do anymore. It would have been easy for this guy, too. She could have just pointed out a few things that could easily be fixed with proper hygiene corrections, and then choose a fancy way of calling him a pompous ass so that it sounded like he had some unfortunate disease.

It's not like she'd be lying.

However, she was lucky enough to have her phone ring so that she didn't have to stretch the truth in such a deceiving way. Even if she didn't really like the man sitting across from her after the hour they'd spent together, she didn't really want to say anything that could traumatize him.

Unfortunately, when Angela is calling her when she knows she's on a date that usually meant something even more undesirable was coming her way.

"Excuse me," she politely told her date, standing and walking towards the door as she answered the phone. "Angela? What's wrong?"

"Oh, Maura… Jane's in the hospital!"

_**When**_ Maura finally rushed into the visitor's waiting room, she was immediately pulled into a hug by the Rizzoli matriarch, the older woman's cries not making it any easier to hold in her own.

"What happened?" Maura asked, looking over to Frost and noticing he had quite a bit of blood on his clothes.

"We were chasing after a suspect," Frost said, sounding guilty. "She tore after him, and I tried to keep up, but at some point they left my sight and I couldn't find them again. Jane's radio had fallen off her hip and busted. I called in for backup, and then heard a couple gunshots and ran towards them. A couple officers were responding, so I told them where I was headed."

Maura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew where this was going.

"Jane was only shot in her leg, and the other guy was dead. When I walked in, though, another guy had too and took another shot at her. It hit her shoulder, and she… I shot him, before he could do anything else. But Jane, she lost a lot of blood. By the time the EMTs got to us, she was passed out from all of it."

"Is she going to be okay?"

"They're still in surgery with her," Frankie piped in, stepping up to take Angela from Maura so that the doctor could take a seat. Maura was sure that her face looked unnaturally pale from the news she was receiving. Once Angela was no longer holding her up, Maura quickly stepped to a chair and practically collapsed into it.

"You said she had one shot in the leg and one in the shoulder?" Maura asked, clarifying. "What part of the leg?"

Frost pointed to a spot just above his knee on his left leg, and Maura tried to grasp at her medical training to see if she could come up with her own conclusions about Jane's condition. But it was like grasping at straws, nothing was coming forward. She couldn't seem to comprehend what was going on. Idly, she decided she was probably in shock.

A little while later, a doctor walked in to update them on Jane.

"We've managed to extract both bullets and repaired most of the damage to Detective Rizzoli's right shoulder. However, the damage to her left leg may be too much for us to fix entirely. She's managed to damage part of her knee cap and the ligaments there. We've done as much repairing as we can, but she's going to have trouble walking on that leg. Even if we replaced the knee, she's going to be stiff around that joint for a while."

Maura's eyes fell closed at the news. Jane was going to be devastated. If she couldn't get full use of her leg, she'd likely have to be removed from homicide or perhaps even have to leave the precinct entirely. Both of those options would ruin her.

Vaguely, she could hear Angela's complaints about Jane's job and attempting to get Frankie to leave the force too while she was at it. Maura chose to ignore her, something she didn't really like to do to Angela but right now she had to figure out some way to cope with the information. She had to be strong for Jane, because Jane wouldn't want anyone but her to see her as anything less than the strong detective they know her as. Knowing this meant that Maura knew she had to be there for Jane in a whole different way than everyone else.

Her eyes only opened back up when a nurse walked in a while later, a time lapse that Maura barely registered, to tell them they could visit Jane, but they needed to keep it to two people and to try to keep it short.

Angela and Frankie went first, followed by Korsak and Frost. Maura idly wondered where Tommy was, but decided he must not have been informed. Then she remembered that he and Jane had gotten into a huge fight a couple days ago that neither was willing to talk about, and it left both of them estranged. Perhaps Tommy felt it was a better idea not to come.

When it was Maura's turn, she told the others not to wait for her. They were hesitant but agreed and left. She was sure that they all knew she was planning on staying, if not for herself then because Jane would probably request it without actually asking.

"Maura," Jane said with a loopy grin when the doctor walked in.

Maura offered a small smile. "Hello, Jane."

"I'm sorry," the brunette offered next. "I swear I thought I was being careful. I didn't even see the gun until he'd shot me."

Maura walked over to Jane's left side and slipped her hand in the other woman's.

"I believe you, Jane."

Jane nodded, her eyes closing as she let out a relieved sigh. "I was afraid you'd be really pissed off at me. I knew Ma would be, so that didn't bother me. But I couldn't handle it if you started hating me again."

Maura took her other hand to brush a lock of hair out of Jane's face. "I could never truly hate you, Jane. You know that."

"Doesn't mean I'm not afraid of it," Jane told her sleepily. "Maura, will you stay with me? I know it's probably stupid, but I don't want to be alone, and I don't want anyone else to be here."

"Of course I will, Jane," Maura said, releasing Jane's hand to pull the chair closer.

"The doc explained to me what happened to my leg," Jane said once she felt Maura hold her hand again. "If this goes south, I'm gonna put in a request to teach at the academy."

Maura gave Jane's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Whatever happens, Jane, I'll be here and I'll support your decisions."

Neither of them had to openly say it, but they both knew the other was indirectly talking about the knee replacement surgery. Maura knew Jane was considering it, and Jane knew Maura would be there for her to help her get through it. Strangely enough, it was calming for Jane to know Maura wouldn't leave her, and soon enough she was out. Maura stayed conscious a lot longer, watching Jane sleep. Even when she did fall asleep, her hand didn't leave Jane's.

_**It was**_ several days later that Jane signed the form stating she wanted to go through the knee replacement surgery. It was scheduled for a month later to give her injuries time to heal enough so that the surgery's recovery wouldn't be too uncomfortable. She was released from the hospital only a few hours later with crutches, several prescriptions, and lots of directions for care.

Jane and Angela fought over where Jane would be staying, which was decided when Maura announced that Jane would be staying with her in the main house and everyone would need to show proper protocol before entering or she'd take all of their keys and ban them from visiting.

Luckily for Jane, everyone knew she couldn't lie and therefore wasn't bluffing. To top it all off, Korsak and Frost knew how scary the doctor could be when it came to Jane's wellbeing and were the first to pop off a quick agreement. Frankie, seeing how quickly they agreed and figuring there was a story there, wasn't too far behind. Angela sulked over the idea for a while before saying she'd adhere to Maura's terms.

This was how Jane found herself laying across Maura's couch without anyone but the doctor for company, something she was really grateful for at the moment.

"Hey, Maura, stop fussing in the kitchen and come relax with me," Jane said, hearing the clanging of dishes that let her know what Maura was doing. "You haven't been home longer than the time it takes you to shower and change clothes over the last few days. Let's just order takeout and watch a movie or two. You need to relax, too, you know?"

Maura walked over to the couch and looked down at Jane. "You should really eat something healthy while you're recovering."

"So I slack off for a day," Jane said with a grin. "Come on, just give in for tonight. After tonight, I'll refrain from asking for takeout and eat whatever you make me eat."

Maura sighed but gave in. "All right, but…" Jane shifted so that Maura could sit behind her and Jane could lean into her. "You know me all too well."

"Yeah, but that's okay," Jane said with a smirk. "I'm kind of glad you have this needy compulsion to hold me every time I get hurt."

Maura slipped into the spot Jane made for her and they shifted together until bother were comfortable. Jane handed Maura the remote, causing the doctor's brow to raise.

"What? I thought you might want to pick the first movie," Jane said.

Maura sighed. "You know, you're being far too indulgent. I'm not going to be angry with you for doing your job. Your job comes with its risks and I know this. So does everyone who knows you. We also know that you have a tendency to take unnecessary risks in order to get what you want when you want it. I've accepted this, Jane."

"That doesn't mean you like it," Jane said softly. "I don't like it either, because even as I'm doing these kinds of things I'm telling myself that you're gonna be so upset with me and I do it anyway. And once it's over, I hate myself for it. I hate it when I worry you like this."

Maura ran her fingers through Jane's hair. "I know you do. That's why I try not to put so much of the pressure on you. You do enough punishing of yourself on your own that I don't need to. Besides, I don't mind taking care of you. I'd prefer it was from something less life threatening, but I still don't mind it."

Jane sighed and watched as Maura chose a foreign romantic comedy. "I'm still sorry. It's not a real good way to show someone how much you love them, that's for sure." Maura tensed up like she always did when Jane alluded to her feelings for her, causing Jane to curse. "Aw, shit, I'm sorry, Maura."

Maura shook her head. "Don't be sorry for being you, Jane. I'm just grateful you didn't leave me after my… rejection of your feelings."

Jane snorted. "You didn't reject my feelings. You told me you appreciated them and that you would consider them. It's my fault for springing them on you like I did."

Maura hummed, not wanting to agree or disagree with Jane's statement. To be honest, Maura has always found Jane attractive. Well, except for when they first met when Jane was dressed as a hooker. Though, if she were honest with herself, she was appreciative of the woman's body even if she was cringing at what she believed her profession was and therefore denying the fact that she found her physically appealing.

And it's not like Maura had an aversion to Jane because she was a woman. She'd had a few relationships with women in the past, but they'd been far too complicated emotionally for her and she found them hard to deal with. In the end, men just became easier. Sure, every once in a while she'd go out for dinner with a woman, but nothing ever became of it.

With Jane, though… Something would come out of a relationship with Jane and they both knew it. Maura suspected that was why the usually impatient detective was being so patient and understanding with her regarding this subject. They both had commitment issues, but Jane has had the opportunity over the last three years to come to terms with the idea of being with Maura and truly committing to her. Maura's had a month of considering the idea.

Maura looked down at Jane to see the brunette sleeping peacefully. It still amazed her that the woman could sleep so calmly when she was around.

"I'm trying to come to terms with it, Jane, I promise," Maura whispered before reaching for the phone to put in an order for takeout. By the time the food would arrive, it would be time for Jane's pills and her movie would be over.

* * *

**I hope that turned out well. Again, I'm not so sure about Jane's confession and Maura's response. Especially given their lack of awkwardness and Maura having dated since with both of them being aware of it. But, maybe it'll be okay in the next few chapters.**

**Not entirely sure where I'm going with this, but I'll definitely be going if there's any interest. And, if you've got some ideas feel free to share! I'm willing to take suggestions into account.**

**Please, review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**All right, I'm not exactly happy with this chapter as a whole. I like most of it, for the most part, but I still don't feel completely right about it. Still, I've been rereading it and playing with it for the past week. If it's not where I want it by now it's likely not going to get there. I hope you find it at least a little enjoyable.**

* * *

When Jane woke up in pain, she cursed. And then she closed her eyes and steeled herself to try and fight the pain. She didn't know how long she laid like that before Maura walked into the room and sat next to her, a hand touching her right hand.

"Jane, I need you to sit up so I can give you your medication."

Jane didn't move, nor did she make a noise. Maura shifted her hand to check her pulse, her breath catching as her imagination overrode logic. After a second, Jane heard her sigh in relief and shift again. Jane felt something against her lips, held between them while Maura put an arm under her shoulders to lift her. The rim of a glass touched her lips. Jane, taking pity on Maura and knowing that the pain would only get worse if she didn't do this, opened her lips to let in the pill. Maura tilted the glass to let water slip into her mouth so that she could swallow the pill. After a few gulps, Maura removed the glass and slowly laid Jane back down.

"I forget how strong you are sometimes," Jane said softly, not bothering to open her eyes.

"I know you do."

Jane took a deep breath, willing the pill to kick in faster.

"Why didn't you call for me when you realized you were in pain?" Jane tilted her head away from her. "Jane, I can't take care of you if you don't tell me when you need something. I can hand you pills at regular intervals and make you meals without being told, but if you need help with something that I can't see or that isn't scheduled… I'm not a mind reader, Jane."

"I know. I hate being a burden."

It had been two weeks since leaving the hospital, and Maura had been expecting this attitude to show up sooner than this. When Jane had still been pleasant after a few days, Maura thought that maybe Jane had accepted the situation easier than she'd assumed she would. But even with that in mind, she had prepared for Jane to shut everyone away eventually.

"Why don't you let me look at your shoulder, and then we'll get you to the bathroom?" Maura asked. "I'm sure you need to take care of some things there, and then I can make you something to eat."

Jane grunted and let Maura help her out of her shirt. Sitting half naked with Maura had never been an issue, because she usually worked out with the doctor in just a sports bra on her upper half.

Luckily the shot to the shoulder wasn't nearly as debilitating as the one to the knee. It was healing pretty well, all things considered. Jane had some mobility back in it, which made a lot of things easier on her despite being left handed.

Maura removed the bandage on the shoulder and inspected the stitches. "You're healing nicely. It's still going to be a few weeks before this will be fully healed, but I think the appointment we set to have the stitches removed before your knee surgery is well-placed. You should be just fine by then."

Maura felt Jane wince at the mention of her impending surgery and knew then that was what was bothering her friend. With an inaudible sigh, Maura got off the bed and circled around to help Jane to her feet.

"Let's get you in the bathroom and put some plastic wrap around your leg and shoulder so you can shower, hmm?"

Jane grunted. She should care more about the fact that Maura would likely stand there in the bathroom watching her if she didn't make some sort of effort to show that she cared, but it was hard to. She didn't feel like caring about anything right now. Who would, she wondered, if they were about to have a knee surgery that could take away the only thing they knew how to do?

Her words to Maura that first day, about becoming a teacher at the academy, filtered through, but Jane pushed them away. Who wanted to teach when they were so damn good at doing the real thing? She didn't like to toot her own horn, but she was a damn fine detective and everyone knew it. It was her purpose and ambition. Where she was before all this was where she was meant to be.

Maura ignored Jane's sudden silence, letting the detective sulk for now. She knew that she was likely to be thinking about the situation. And Maura knew that if she interrupted those thoughts at the wrong moment, Jane was likely to become even sourer.

Finally she came to a point where she had to say something, because they were standing in the middle of the bathroom with plastic wrap around the shoulder, Jane's pants at her ankles without her realizing it, and plastic wrap on her knee.

"All right, do you need me to do anything else for you?" Maura asked. "I can stay in here with you if you want."

Jane sighed, her shoulders dropping. "I don't think that's necessary, Maura. Just, help me get into the shower and I'll finish getting undressed so I can shower quickly."

Maura nodded and did as Jane asked, helping her sit on the stool that she had put in there after the first day so that Jane wouldn't have to stand on one leg during the whole shower. "I'll be standing right outside, so please let me know if you need anything."

Jane was silent for a moment before nodding. "I'll be sure to let you know."

"Thank you."

Maura stepped outside of the bathroom and waited. A few seconds later the shower was turned on and she heard Jane curse a few times as she tried to wash herself without messing up the plastic wrap or strain her knee.

The normal ten minutes was all it took before the water was turned off and Jane called her back in. Maura quickly grabbed a change of clothes – basketball shorts, a pair of panties, a front hook bra, and a t-shirt – before walking into the bathroom slowly to find Jane standing in a towel waiting for her.

Maura offered a shy smile and set down the clothes before helping Jane out of the shower and to the toilet so she could sit on the lid and get dressed. Hoping to help preserve some of her privacy, Maura turned around while Jane dressed.

"It's only fair that I try," Jane mumbled as she worked on getting dressed. "If you're trying to determine your feelings for me it's only fair for me to try and talk to you even when I'm injured and hate everything."

Maura fought a smile. "It's all right, Jane. I know you hate depending on others."

Jane snorted. "You're not _others_, Maura. You're my best friend and the woman I have confessed to loving. If there's anyone in the world I should be able to lean on, it's you." Maura heard some shuffling and a grunt before Jane said, "I'm dressed."

Maura turned to help Jane stand before handing her the crutches to see if Jane can walk with them today.

"I think my shoulder's still a little too sore," Jane grumbled after a few steps. She closed her eyes like she was trying to keep calm about the situation.

"I'd thought you might be, but I hoped you would be okay," Maura admitted, "because I know that just being able to walk on your own even with crutches would have helped you feel at least a little better about depending on me."

Jane sighed. "Yeah, but… I guess it's all right. I'm glad it's you that's helping instead of Ma. After the first incident with Hoyt when I couldn't use my hands… she stayed with me at my apartment, which wasn't that big of a deal because I barely left the couch. At least, that's what I told myself during the first couple hours." Jane offered a grin, albeit a half-hearted one.

"I'm going to go out on a limb based on my own knowledge of your mother and say that after a few hours you were ready to commit a murder-suicide."

Jane laughed. "You're right on the money, Maura. Too bad we weren't very close yet then, or I'd have probably been able to escape to your place, like I usually do when I'm avoiding Ma. Or I did, since now it's actually safer to hide in my apartment since she lives with you now."

They were smiling as they worked their way out to the couch, which was where Jane had spent most of the first week. It wasn't until the ninth day of waking up there that Jane said she wanted to try to make sure she fell asleep in a bed at night, if for no other reason than the fact that she'd be closer to a bathroom when she woke up.

Of course, back then she was also still in a better mood.

"Maura, what happens if I can't be a detective anymore?" Jane asked quietly about half an hour later.

Maura considered the question carefully. "Well, you said you wanted to become an academy teacher, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but…" Jane sighed. "That stuffs usually reserved for some of the retirees. I don't want to be considered a retiree."

"Perhaps they'll give you a new assignment that may mean less fieldwork but still be investigative work?" Maura suggested. "You could be placed on cold cases, which I know you secretly enjoy. And you know Cavanaugh will help you anyway he can. You've done a lot of good things for the department."

Jane nodded. "I know. I think I'm scared that I'll lose part of myself if I can't be a homicide detective. I live for that job, Maura."

Maura pulled Jane into her embrace. "I know you do, Jane. But I think you'll be able to find something else to live for if you had to leave homicide."

"Maybe," Jane mumbled as she sank into Maura's side. She knew the doctor would get up to make her something to eat soon, but Jane was enjoying their proximity at the moment and wanted to savor it while she could. "Hey, I almost forgot! You had a date with that Andrew guy a couple weeks ago didn't you?"

It was an unspoken rule that Jane wouldn't complain about Maura's dates. She could make fun of the guys that turned out to be losers, sulk so long as she was pleasant if the date led to a second, and only if the date led to more than just dinner and maybe a nightcap could she voice her disapproval. As it was, Maura hadn't slept with anyone since Jane's confession out of respect for Jane's feelings. She just didn't feel that if she was going to correctly consider her feelings for Jane that she should stop dating.

And Jane, although incredibly jealous every time she learns Maura has a date, tries to be as much of a best friend regarding them as she can. It would be harder if Maura's dates actually made it past the second date, but it didn't matter since so far it hasn't happened; Jane was just happy that Maura's dates' time had run out.

"Hmm, Andrew was… very rude and pompous. His family is from new money, unlike the Isles family, so he was mostly just tooting his father's horn since he has no interest in the family's business. Andrew was rich by association and when his father died he would be rich by luck. I was very disappointed in him as a whole. He looked good, I must admit, so long as you ignored his tinea versicolor."

Jane snorted. "That sounds dangerous."

"It isn't really. But it is rather disgusting in an adult, because as adults our skin tends to be less oily than teenagers. Through proper hygiene management, it's very easy to prevent tinea versicolor. Given his age, I have no sympathy for him."

"Poor guy," Jane laughed.

Maura smiled, happy to see Jane being a little more herself. Glancing at the time, Maura decided she should fix up some breakfast before Jane said she was hungry. The detective's stomach wasn't exactly on a specific time schedule, but her pill works best with food to help speed the metabolism a little so she didn't want to wait too long to feed her.

"I'm going to go get something put together for breakfast," she told Jane, shifting out from under her. "Would you like something specific?"

Jane shook her head. "Nah, whatever you make will be good."


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm trying to make this as much of a roller coaster as possible. I don't think this chapter causes quite the whiplash I had hoped it would, but I am rather fond of what I did in this chapter.**

* * *

Three days later, Maura went to the guest room to check on Jane only to find the detective sprawled out on the floor between the bed and the bathroom.

"Don't say a word," Jane scowled as she looked up at the deep frown on Maura's face. "I've had plenty of time to tell myself this was a stupid idea, trust me."

"How long have you been laying there?"

"A couple of hours," Jane mumbled, closing her eyes. "Look, can we talk about it after I've had a chance to piss?"

Maura sighed and moved to help Jane get back on her feet. It wasn't easy between trying to be careful with her shoulder and leg, but somehow they managed it. Jane was escorted safely to the bathroom, and then put right back in bed.

"What the hell, Maura?"

"You're staying right here," Maura told her. "I'm here to help, Jane, and I want to help. Please don't make this any harder on yourself."

"Why the fuck do you even care?" Jane scowled.

Maura shot her a look that almost made Jane coil.

"I'm not going to talk to you like this, Jane. And if you're going to be an ass about this, then I'll go get your mother and _she_ can take care of you today."

Jane huffed and shifted on the bed so that she wasn't looking at Maura. The doctor threw up her hands and left the room. She'd get Jane's pills, shove them down her throat if she needed to, force feed her if it came down to it, and then leave her alone until she could ask for help.

**_It was_** a little after dinner when Maura's phone went off. In a childish move, Maura had dressed up and gone out shopping without telling Jane. Angela was sitting on the couch with strict instructions not to help Jane or even see her until the woman could ask for help. Maura told her she wanted Jane to understand that until at least her shoulder was healed she had to have help and needed to stop being so stubborn about it.

"Hello, Jane."

"Where the hell are you?"

"I'm shopping. I needed to stock up my kitchen, and since you were determined to do everything yourself I figured there would be no problem."

"But you'll call my mother in to babysit?"

"Someone needed to be there in case of an emergency."

"So you called Ma in. Why couldn't she go do the shopping?"

Maura held back a laugh. "Because I didn't want to inconvenience her with my rigid specifications for my food preferences and because she offered. Besides, she wanted to visit you."

"Which is why she's just been hanging out here under instructions from you not to do a damn thing unless I ask nicely?"

"I may have requested that of her, yes."

Maura wasn't surprised when Jane hung up on her, so she called Angela.

"I told her not to bother you," Angela said when she answered the phone.

"It's really not a problem, Angela. Is she being as rude to you as I thought she might be?"

"She's much worse than we'd both thought."

Maura hummed thoughtfully as she put a few more items in her cart. "I see. She's more bothered by this upcoming surgery than I thought, then. I'm worried about her, Angela."

"I know you are, sweetie. And I'm glad you're willing to put up with this on a daily basis. I'm ready to strangle her for her behavior. She wasn't even this bad after that man scarred her hands."

"I was afraid she'd be worse for you," Maura said with a sigh. "She's been fairly decent with me until today. She hasn't been nearly as bad as when she'd shot herself two years ago, but this morning it felt like she was being even more stubborn with me than even then."

"I can call her brothers and have them take her to the guest house if you'd like. There's no reason for you to deal with this."

"No," Maura said, "she'd only become even more irritable. Right now, I'm probably the best person to deal with her. I've just been trying to give her a chance to see that I don't have to be there. I'm sure she'll be a lot more pleasant once she's calmed down and had a chance to think today over."

"I sure hope you're right."

Maura ended the call shortly thereafter and continued her shopping. She was about to head to the checkout when she was stopped.

"Maura Isles!"

Maura turned and grinned.

"Eric Thompson," she said, pronouncing the name fondly. They exchanged a brief but warm hug. "It's been years since I've seen you. How have you been?"

"I have been well. I finally got my security firm off the ground and now it's soaring," he told her. "But, wow, you look incredible. How have you been? I see your name in the paper every so often, but I haven't had a chance to get in touch with you."

"Well, recent events have been a little stressing, but I've been doing well otherwise," Maura told him. "I remember you talking about all your ideas to build a company for security software and equipment. I'm glad you've gotten it going."

"Yes, so am I. It wasn't easy, but I've got a great team helping me. And, we also have security officers that we contract out to companies."

"Oh! That's a splendid way to be well-rounded in the market," Maura said. Then she had a thought, and asked, "What sort of work do your security guards do?"

"Mostly they just watch cameras and do patrols. We do have some events that we get contracted for, and we occasionally do low-scale investigations for companies that don't want to get police involved," Eric explained. "I'm trying to get that department a little more organized, but it's hard to find someone who wants to deal with a bunch of security guards and the little nuances that come with it. I keep finding guys to fill the position but they never fill my expectations and I end up firing them within a month."

Maura bit her lower lip, wondering if she should talk up Jane for the job and tell her that it would be another option if she was set against becoming an instructor at the academy.

"You look like you have something to say," Eric said with a grin.

"I have a friend that may be interested, but I don't want to say more until I've had a chance to talk to her about it. She's… touchy about certain things right now," Maura explained.

Eric nodded. "I understand. Well, it's a good reason to invite you to dinner if anything," he said with a grin, getting out a business card. "Why don't you call me after you've had a chance to talk to her? Or if you'd like to get together for dinner, because I'd like to catch up and maybe become a little more involved."

Maura smiled and took the card. "I most definitely will, Eric. Thank you."

Eric beamed and gave the back of her hand a gentle kiss before wandering off. Maura watched him for a second before guilt set in. She knew that if she went on a date with Eric and Jane was interested in the job, she wouldn't take it because of that fact. It didn't matter if Jane tried to be polite about her dates; Maura knew they made her jealous and defensive. And given Jane's current mood there was no way for Maura to make this any easier for her.

_**When**_ Maura walked in, Jane was sitting on the couch watching infomercials on the television.

"The home shopping channel again, Jane?" Maura asked, trying to sound teasing. Jane grunted but didn't really answer. She eyed the bags Maura was bringing in and then focused on the TV even harder. "I hope you haven't called and bought anything yet." Again, there was only a grunt from Jane to let Maura know she'd heard her. "I ran into an old friend today. He's looking for someone to manage a department of his security firm. He takes care of security software and equipment, and contracts out security guards."

Jane was silent for a while, so Maura knew that her offhanded comment was causing Jane to think about it the way she thought she might.

At least, she'd thought she was.

"Did he ask you out?"

Maura sighed. "Yes, but I didn't accept."

Jane snorted. "You've probably got his business card somewhere though. He probably gave it to you when you declined."

"Actually, he gave it to me when I told him I had someone who just might be interested in the position he was telling me about. I wanted to talk to you about it, though, before telling him whether you were or weren't. I didn't accept the offer for dinner that he'd extended when he gave me his card so I could contact him about whether you were interested or not."

Jane was silent again, and Maura hoped she didn't make anything worse.

"I'm sorry for saying anything about the job, Jane," she said, sitting next to the brunette. "I just wanted to help you, because I know how worried you are about the prospect of not being a detective anymore. And I know you're hesitant about asking for a teaching position. He said that the firm does do some investigative work, so maybe you can still be involved in that. From what he was saying, you'd be the head of the entire security guard department. It probably means a lot more desk time, which I know will annoy you, but Eric will probably be willing to integrate you in other areas as well."

Jane sighed and leaned into Maura's side. "Thank you. It means a lot that you're looking after me like this when I just treat you like shit all the time. And you're right; I am worried about what will happen after this surgery and what I'll do if I can't be a detective. I hadn't thought about looking into private firms, so even if this guy's company doesn't want me maybe I can find a P.I. that needs some help with some minor legwork or something."

Maura slipped her hand in Jane's and entwined their fingers. "That's a much better way to think, don't you agree?"

Jane snorted. "It's not bad, at least. Just promise me that the next time you want me to rethink my actions you don't sic Ma on me like you did this time?"

"I can't promise you that, Jane," Maura said with a shoulder bump that caused both of them to grin at each other. "Besides, she was probably going crazy in the guest house trying to keep from coming over every day to see how you were doing. I had Frankie call her while I was on the way home so she wouldn't be able to find a reason to stay even when I got here."

"Thanks for that, then," Jane told her. She looked back at the kitchen. "I know that's not all your groceries and I know it's killing you to know that the ones you did bring in are just sitting there."

"You're right, it is," Maura said, giving Jane's hand a gentle squeeze before getting up. "I also know it is killing you to be unable to help, so why don't I take you to the counter and you can unload the bags for me?"

Jane's face lit up, and the two managed to get her to the counter so she could do just that.

* * *

**Part of me wants to have fun with Eric and Jane. I was going to set it up so that Eric comes to the conclusion that there's something between the women without being told and therefore jump-starting Maura's discovery, but at the same time I've got another event that I want to use for that purpose and... I'm a little lost. I have the next chapter typed up but I don't really like it...**

**Drop me some comments and tell me what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

**All right, I completely rewrote this chapter after I posted the last chapter. The previous version sucked. This one isn't quite as good as I wanted it to be, mostly because I'm mostly trying to get to the point that this chapter is leading into, which is post-surgery recovery.**

* * *

Maura had to grab Jane's hand every sixty seconds since they'd sat down.

"Would you please just relax?" Maura asked after she stopped Jane's fidgeting for the… Actually, she lost track of how many times she'd reached over and grabbed one of Jane's hands.

Jane grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Maura, but I'm kind of nervous."

They'd gotten Jane's stitches out last week, and today was the day of the knee surgery. After their last argument Jane would try to be as pleasant as possible, and on days when she wasn't feeling like being nice she just didn't talk to Maura. It didn't take long for Maura to realize Jane was trying to spare her from getting hurt by her words and so she stopped feeling hurt by being ignored.

"It's completely understandable, Jane. You're about to go through a potentially life-changing operation."

Jane nodded.

"I don't think they'll be keeping you overnight, but if they do would you like me to stay with you?"

"Nah, you should go home if they keep me. I'd rather you slept in your own bed than have to deal with an uncomfortable hospital chair."

Maura reached over and gave Jane's hand a squeeze. "I'd stay if you wanted me to. It wouldn't be the first time I've slept in a hospital chair by your bed."

"I know, and I feel bad enough for you going through that."

"Jane Rizzoli?" Both women looked up to see a woman standing at the door wearing, predictably, a white overcoat. "Good morning, Detective. I'm Doctor Emily Rodgers and I'm going to be your surgeon today."

Jane pushed herself to her feet and nodded, rubbing her hands together. Maura also stood and helped Jane get her crutches. She'd been using them for a few days and realized that if she didn't use them all the time then her shoulder didn't hurt so bad, and especially if she used them when she'd taken a pain pill. It was the easiest Maura had ever gotten Jane to take a pill.

"All right, Doc," Jane said, "let's get this over with."

Maura had been kicked out when they took Jane back to the operating room and was relegated to pacing in the waiting room. It wasn't going to be a fun surgery and Maura knew it. She'd done some research and had even guessed at what kind of surgery they'd be doing. Since most of the damage was to the patella and a few ligaments, it shouldn't be too difficult of a surgery. However, all of her reading suggested that the damage wouldn't allow the knee to function at full capacity again. If Jane damaged her knee again, a second surgery would completely erase her career. As it was, it would still be questionable now.

She did find out that Jane would still be able to do physical activity, like running and gym workouts. The only difference would be that her knee would always feel a little stiff and could make most activities uncomfortable after extended periods of time. In short, marathon running was out and possibly even suspect chasing.

"I think Jane would be happy if she could at least keep working though," Maura had decided. She knew that being unable to chase after a suspect would probably bother her, but if Jane could still do some fieldwork then maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

At least, that's how she felt until Cavanaugh approached her two weeks ago when Maura had gone into work for a half day to do an urgent autopsy.

"_Tell me how it is, Doc," he asked._

"_Well, the damage to her knee will be irreplaceable. Even with the surgery, she's not going to have complete use of the knee like she used to. She'll be able to do normal activities, but her movements will be stiff. At least, that's what I've deduced based on research."_

_Cavanaugh looked hesitant. "I hate to say it, Dr. Isles, but I don't think the higher ups are going to let her come back. I think they're going to force her into early retirement."_

"_What? But why would they do that? Jane will still be capable of going out and speaking to families and doing some fieldwork. She should be able to do some running, though Barry may have to do most of the legwork in that area. And her mind will still be more than sharp enough to put together the puzzles of each homicide."_

"_I know that, and you know that," Cavanaugh said. "And I'm going to try and convince them that. But they're concerned about her injury reports. She's a liability to them, Dr. Isles. She'll get a pension, because if they force her into retirement I'm not letting them take anything away from her. However, we both know that's not going to placate Jane if she's being forced away from this job."_

_Maura nodded and took a deep breath. "I understand. If that is their decision I'll do my best to be there for Jane."_

Angela was the only person who knew what Cavanaugh had said, because Maura needed to tell someone. And Angela was a good soundboard for these things. Maura has told her many things that she's kept from Jane. Well, most of it was kept from Jane. And this was important enough that Maura knew Angela wouldn't say anything.

Maura had sat down as her thoughts had carried her away, and was just about to get up to start pacing again when Dr. Rodgers walked back in.

"Dr. Isles, Jane is in recovery now if you'd like to sit with her."

"Yes, I would," Maura said. Dr. Rodgers led her down a couple hallways and moved a curtain aside to reveal a still-sleeping Jane.

"She should be coming out from under anesthesia soon. As soon as she does and we do a few checks, we'll talk about her therapy and you can take her home."

Maura nodded and walked over the chair next to the bed. It was always hard to see Jane in a medically induced sleep. She sent Angela a short text letting her know the surgery was over and looked like it had gone well and then reached over to touch Jane's hand. Angela had wanted to be here, but convincing Stanley to let her have the morning off was harder than convincing Jane to stop drinking coffee.

"Don't look so gloomy," Jane mumbled as she slowly woke up. "My leg hurts."

"I'm sure it does," Maura said. "You did just have it cut into."

Jane grunted and looked over at her. "You look beautiful, you know. Even if your face is kinda scrunched up like you're worried about something."

Maura couldn't stop the grin from forming and her cheeks from warming. Jane told her in different manners of speaking that she looked good, but never has she openly stated that she looked beautiful like she did then. It was endearing to know that Jane really did think of her that way.

Jane chuckled. "You're cute when you blush. It's kinda nice knowing I'm the one that put it there this time. It's rare enough that I'm glad I can do it."

"You are an insufferable tease," Maura grumbled. In a lighter tone, she added, "You're also sweet, and I'm pleased to know you think of me that way."

"I've always thought of you that way," Jane said softly. "It's a damn shame I was never brave enough to really tell you before. I mean, I tell you all the time you look like you came from a photo shoot and indirectly poke fun of the fact that you dress up like you do all the time, but I definitely appreciate the image. You always look amazing. You're always beautiful."

Maura gave Jane's hand a squeeze and was about to say more when Dr. Rodgers walked back in.

"Good, I'd hoped you were awake," she said with a smile. "How do you feel, Jane?"

"I feel like shit, honestly."

The doctor laughed and walked over to the side opposite Maura. "Well, your surgery went by without any problems. I'm going to have you meet with a physical therapist twice a week to try and get that knee in shape and try to get you walking again."

"How bad was the damage?" Maura asked. "Will the surgery have reversed any of it?"

The doctor shook her head. "I'm afraid that there was a lot of ligament damage. We fixed up as much as we could but that knee will always be stiffer than it used to be. Depending on the therapy," the doctor turned to Jane, "you may get most of the function back so you can walk with only a slight limp, and you will probably be able to do short jogs, but you won't ever have full use of your knee again."

Jane nodded but didn't say anything. She didn't have to for Maura to know that she was well aware of what that meant in regards to her job. In Jane's mind, she wasn't a police officer anymore and never will be again.

Dr. Rodgers seemed to sense the melancholy and excused herself to go get paperwork for them, her final words being that as soon as Jane is more alert they'll be able to leave.

Maura watched Jane as she stared at the ceiling.

"What am I going to do, Maura?"

Maura gave her hand another squeeze. "You'll figure it out, Jane. I know you will. But right now, you need to focus on recovery. Let yourself heal a little more before you start to worry about your job."

Jane sighed and closed her eyes. "You're right. I know you're right. But I still hate this."

"I know you do," Maura said. She stood and leaned over to kiss Jane's forehead. "You're still my best friend, Jane, no matter what you do. And I'll always be here for you in whatever capacity I can."

"Thanks, Maura."

* * *

******The next couple of chapters will probably be a little more angst-y, depending on if I can write the mood that I want. I really hate writing angst...**

******Anyway, if you have ideas or things you'd like to see in the future chapters, let me know. Also, I don't really know anything about anatomy or anything else in the medical field. From what I do understand, I know I'm stretching a lot of details with this story. For example, the stitches came out after four weeks when I'm pretty sure it takes closer to six. I think.**

******Anyways, don't get upset with me because there are a lot of not-truths being put into play here. I want the events to follow a certain timeline so I'm kind of pushing a few things.**

**As always, thank you for reading. I'm pretty sure I haven't said my thank yous to any of you yet, but I am very grateful for all the comments and alerts. I'm glad that you are entertained in some form by my writing and I hope to continue to do so.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I have a love-hate relationship with this new layout for the review/comment thing. I miss the pop-up window that let me pop in a review and if I told it too would actually alert or favorite stuff at the same time. I'm never sure what's going on with this new thing... But, it does make it look pretty... I can't deny that...**

**Anyway, this was difficult and I'm not quite sure I'm setting the tone I want... Angst has always been hard for me, which is why I wanted to give this a shot. I mean, my last multi-chapter R&I had a couple scenes of massive drama and yelling, but it didn't last quite like this one is supposed to be. I'm afraid I'm failing you on that, but I'm still working it out.**

**Despite my shortcomings, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

After two weeks of therapy, Jane was finally comfortable enough to use her crutches again. She still wasn't allowed to put weight on the knee, but just being able to move around on her own again felt a little better. And the more she could do for herself, the more she realized Maura was starting to feel the effects of not working. As much as Jane complains about not being able to work with every injury she obtains, it never occurred to her that Maura would have an issue with being at home a lot.

They were sitting on the couch watching a documentary, Jane's complacency about watching it surprising Maura but since she had really wanted to see it she didn't complain, when Jane brought it up. It was surprising to her anytime Jane proved how observant of her she is, and once she thought about it she usually realized that she shouldn't be surprised.

"You should go back to work tomorrow," Jane said out of the blue.

Maura frowned. "I don't think I will. I want to be here in case you need me."

"I know you miss it, Maura. It's been almost a month, and you and I both know they're going to get really pushy about you returning soon enough. They've only let you have this long because you're damn good at what you do and because even if I'm useless they still want me taken care of."

"You aren't useless," Maura scolded. When Jane didn't say anything, she sighed. "Fine, I'll start on half days for a while, and I'm still going to take you to all of your PT appointments."

Jane nodded. "Good."

With Jane's blessing, the next morning Maura woke up and prepared for work. She still went in late because she refused to leave until she made sure Jane had taken her morning pills and eaten breakfast. Jane had grumbled about her waiting on her hand and foot when she had more important things to do, but Maura told her she was important and should just stop complaining.

"Keep your cell phone on you at all times," Maura told her as she was about to leave. "And don't hesitate to call me if you need anything, all right? I'll be here as soon as I can."

"I'll be fine, Maura, so just get outta here," Jane said, offering a teasing grin that didn't meet her eyes. Maura figured Jane was trying to be strong because she had insisted that the ME get back to work and it was only just sinking in that she wasn't ever going to be going back too.

Biting her lower lip, Maura decided to voice her thought. "Jane, I know you probably don't want to, but will you think about calling Eric about that job he told me about? I think it would be a good second choice if you don't get to return to BPD. And you and I both know you'll only feel better if you can get to work again."

"I'll think about it."

That was all Maura could ask for.

At lunch time, Maura's desk phone rang and prevented her from finishing packing her things to go home for the day. With a sigh, she picked it up and greeted the caller.

"Ah, Dr. Isles, my name is Dr. William Sheppard, from Doctors without Borders?"

"Yes, Dr. Sheppard, I remember meeting you a time or two. What can I do for you?"

"Ian Faulkner has you listed as his emergency contact," he said slowly.

Maura frowned. "Did something happen to him?"

"I'm afraid he was arrested yesterday while getting off a plane at Logan International on his way to see you. I thought you might want to know, in case he had informed you of his coming arrival."

"Thank you for letting me know," Maura said. The important information exchanged, they quickly said their goodbyes and hung up. Staring at the desk for a moment, Maura tried to figure out what she was feeling. She had thought she'd have the strong desire to see Ian, but her need to make sure Jane was okay far outweighed even the thought. Grabbing her bag, she told her assistants and technicians she was leaving for the day.

At home, Maura was unsurprised to see Jane working on her PT exercises. She set down her things and smiled at the brunette.

"Welcome home," Jane said, almost in a grunt, as she continued her movements. "I'm almost done here. I managed to put together lunch, since I figured you'd likely be coming home soon. It's in the oven and shouldn't be done for another twenty minutes."

"Thank you, Jane. You didn't have to prepare lunch, though; I would have done that when I came home," Maura told her as she moved to the kitchen to check on the casserole that Jane had put in there.

"Just because I'm an injured doesn't mean I'm an invalid," Jane scowled, finishing her exercise and slowly getting back up to her feet. Maura had started to move towards her, but Jane sent her a look that Maura interpreted as Jane would be pouty the rest of the day if she so much as offered to help unless she asked for it.

"I never suggested as such, Jane. I just don't want you to push yourself too hard. Trying to do too much before you're ready can reverse any good you've managed so far," Maura explained as she watched Jane get up alone and fighting the need to go over and help her.

Jane grunted as she finally managed to get upright and settled on the crutches. "I know, but… God, you do so much for me already. I just… wanted to do something…"

Since she was standing, Maura felt it was safe to move towards her now and quickly put her arms around the lanky detective, cheek resting on her shoulder. "Thank you, Jane, for thinking of me. If you feel up to doing things, I won't stop you unless I feel it's too much. But you have to promise you'll still take it easy and not push it. All right, Jane?"

Jane nodded, turning her head to bury her nose in Maura's hair. "I'll be good." They separated slowly, and then with a smile Jane turned to go sit down. "If you don't mind, I'm going to sit and let you wait on me for a bit. I wasn't expecting that to be quite so painful today."

"I'm sure the fact that you just did the same thing yesterday didn't help. If you feel that it's too much, you could always cut back on the amount of repetitions while at home so that when you go in for PT it's not quite so painful or exhausting," Maura suggested as she got down plates and moved to the refrigerator to find a nice complementary side dish for the casserole.

"I'll keep that in mind," Jane answered as she got comfortable. "Hey, how did your morning at work go? Did anything interesting happen?"

Deciding to indulge her, Maura decided to discuss a little bit of the case she walked into while there. "My assistants have been taking care of my autopsies, because despite not being fully licensed medical examiners yet they have dealt with my processes long enough that they are capable of doing them. And despite not being licensed yet, what they find is still permissible in court because they are paid interns and are under my instruction."

"That sounds pretty convenient. The guys were probably pretty damn happy you didn't call in Dr. Pike again," Jane joked.

"I did manage to receive a few grateful comments regarding that while I was there," Maura replied with a grin. Then she continued, "Since they are very capable, I didn't really step in for their latest case but I did review the other cases that I haven't had a chance to sign off on so the bodies could be released. I must admit, I was very pleased with the reports."

"That's impressive. Remind not to give them a hard time when I-" Jane cut herself off and sighed. "I'm not going to get to give your techs a hard time anyway."

Maura walked over to the brunette and pulled her into a hug. Jane didn't even bother to resist, tucking her head under Maura's chin. "You can still give them a hard time. Even if for some reason you don't return to BPD I can't see you staying away. You'll likely visit the bullpen or the morgue frequently, even if it won't be as constantly as we're both used to."

Jane sighed. "Sorry. You can continue telling me about the day if you want."

"There isn't much else to tell. I did receive an interesting phone call as I was leaving, though." Jane shifted to look over at her, surprised to see Maura deep in thought again. "The director of Doctors without Borders called me because Ian has been arrested on American soil and I'm apparently his emergency contact. He was on his way here."

Jane's shoulders dropped and she pulled the rest away from Maura completely. "If you need to go bail him out, I'd understand."

"What?"

"Well, he's the love of your life, right? I know I'd bail you out… so, surely you'd want to bail him out," Jane mumbled.

Maura frowned. "Jane, I'm sure Ian will survive a few days in jail. I'm not going to just run and save him from the law just because he decided he was going to pay me another surprise visit. Besides, I wanted to have lunch with you and I thought if you felt up to it we'd go outside and sit in the backyard for a while. You need to get some Vitamin D from sunlight exposure or you'll end up with muscle cramps while you're healing."

Maura watched as Jane thought over and analyzed her words, and was relieved when she saw Jane nod. "I think getting outside for a bit isn't a bad idea. And it's warm enough that I bet Bass would like the opportunity to graze outside."

"How did you know Bass likes to graze?" Maura asked, incredulous.

Jane flushed. "I may have gotten online earlier and looked him up. It was really boring and nothing was on TV so I grabbed your laptop and was staring at the browser when Bass bumped into the island on his way to his food. I don't know much about him, so I thought I'd look him up and see what the Internet said."

"Jane…" Maura said softly with a gentle smile. "That's so sweet."

Jane's face seemed to darken more. "Well, I figure… he's kinda included with you. And, you take care of Jo a lot too. So, it almost seemed just… right to get to know him…" she mumbled, trying to make it sound like less of a big deal than she thought Maura was making it.

There were times when Jane really surprised her, Maura decided. She really was a lot more thoughtful than she let on most of the time. Of course, Maura knew this was true because she occasionally saw snippets of that side of Jane, but she wasn't so used to this much exposure.

Maura kissed her cheek and got up to go get their lunch. She knew with that move Jane's face was probably even redder, but she also figured it would have put a goofy smile on her face.

"I'd hate to say it, but we really should bail that guy out at some point," Jane said. "I may hate his guts, but that doesn't mean he doesn't do good work. Besides, at some point it's gonna start bothering you that you're just leaving him there."

"I don't think it will," Maura said, walking over with two plates and handing one to Jane. "And to be honest, I really don't want to think about it right now."

The shock Jane felt was quickly replaced by an almost giddy sensation as she grinned and turned on the TV, immediately finding a cop drama to enjoy. Maura was surprised to see what Jane had chosen, and to see that Jane was watching with a gleeful expression. She smiled; maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

******I have really been struggling to figure out how I want to continue this story. I have a couple of ideas, one of which was sort of introduced here but isn't really going to implemented until a little later. And I'm thinking about tossing in another character in the next chapter to add a little drama in the meantime if I can make it work. However, that's about all I've got in my head so... Yeah.**

**Thanks for reading. Please let me know how much I'm sucking right now.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I know it's short. And it barely has any action. And I'm tired so I don't care that it sucks, at least not at this moment. I just wanted to do something for this story to try and move in a direction I wanted to go... This is mostly a filler and I'm introducing a character and setting up some things.**

**Hopefully it doesn't disappoint too badly.**

* * *

It was another half an hour later when her desk phone rang. She looked at it and eyed the number that appeared on the screen, telling her it wasn't an internal number. Frowning at the memory of yesterday's call, she hesitated to answer it. Still, if it was important police-related business she couldn't screen it while she was sitting here.

"Dr. Isles speaking," she answered pleasantly as she settled the phone by her ear.

"It's good to hear your voice, Maura."

Maura's frown deepened. "Ian. I'm surprised to hear from you. I thought when you left before we had agreed that we weren't going to keep in contact any longer because of the risks."

"Well I changed my mind. I was coming back to ask you to return with me, as my wife."

"I'm afraid I can't accept that offer, Ian," Maura stated, her eyes moving back to the paperwork in front of her. The conversation was no longer going anywhere of importance, so she didn't feel guilty about multi-tasking.

"Why, did you meet someone else?"

"Possibly," she said distractedly. "Ian, I'm in the middle of some paperwork. I need to finish this up quickly so I can get home soon. Did you need anything else?"

She heard Ian's breath hitch as he hesitated. "I was going to ask if you could come get me, since they've managed to pick me up at the airport when I flew in. They've offered me a deal, but only if I've got someone who will come and vouch for me."

"I… Ian, if I didn't have a very important appointment in just over three hours, I would. But right now I have to finish these reports so that I can get to the appointment on time. Will they let you wait until tomorrow? I think I can come by early in the morning if they're all right with that."

"Yes, I have another 24 hours," Ian answered a little solemnly.

Maura hummed. "Then I'll be there around eight, so long as Jane doesn't have any complications in the morning. I'll see you then." And before Ian could say another word, Maura hung up the phone and focused solely on the paperwork. It wasn't until she was preparing to leave that she realized exactly what had happened and smiled.

While Maura was dealing with the Ian crisis, Jane was sitting at Thompson Security in a rather pristine conference room with three men and the young woman who had picked her up.

"Your history with BPD is extraordinary," one of the men, the one in the center, said with his voice only a shade above a whisper and full of awe. "Your record is nearly perfect. I see you have had many injuries, but given the circumstances behind most of them I don't think there is any reason to worry about liability. Besides, the position you are applying for is mostly desk work with a few site inspections and meetings, and the occasional investigation assistance if necessary."

Jane nodded, her mind focused on both his words and the fact that she didn't want to start thumping her heel on the floor.

Eric spoke next. "I personally feel pretty good about hiring you for this job, if you're interested. I understand that you're probably not ready for all of the duties yet with your current injuries, but if you want to work a few hours to see if you like it I wouldn't be opposed to it."

"Wait," Jane said, confusion written on her face, "you guys are hiring me?"

"Yes," the third man piped in with a smile. "We've been discussing you ever since Eric told us about your possible interest. He said a friend of his said you may be interested and that he would easily vouch for her word that if she thought you'd be a good candidate that you probably were. And once we had more information on you, we were more than okay with hiring you."

Jane smiled. "Thanks, I'd be glad to give a couple hours a shot, see how I like it. I'm not usually a fan of desk work, but this doesn't sound like typical desk work. At least, not like I'm used to."

The four people in the room chuckled, and Eric spoke up again. "No, it's probably not, and we're willing to work with you to try and use all of your skills if you want. You're an invaluable resource, Ms. Rizzoli."

"Please, call me Jane," she said, proud of herself for not snapping at him to use her title, a title she probably didn't have anymore.

After filling out some paperwork, Jane was officially an employee of Thompson Security, and Eric turned to the woman who had picked Jane up earlier while the other two men quickly escaped the room.

"Thanks for going to get her, Emily," he said. Then he turned to Jane. "Emily is my sister, and she tends to help out whenever she can. Officially, she's one of my technicians. Unofficially, she'll be one of your assistants in a way. For now she'll probably be more of a trainer, but because she does so many other things she probably won't be so much of an assistant. I've got someone else covering most of her work so that she can help you in any capacity, even if she needs to chauffeur you around for anything, but if something major pops up she will be pulled away from you."

"I understand," Jane said. She turned to Emily. "Thanks for being willing to help me out for a while. I'm sure I'll learn a lot from you."

Emily grinned. "The pleasure's all mine Jane." She walked over to where she had placed Jane's crutches so that they would be out of the way and brought them back to her. "Why don't we get you back home, huh?"

"That sounds like a great idea," Jane said, pushing herself to her feet and getting situated on the crutches. Once ready, she grinned at Emily and they walked towards the doors and to the car. "Do you have anything else to do today?"

"Nope, not today," Emily replied. "I'm at your beck and call."

Jane chuckled. "I don't think that's necessary, but it would be nice to have someone else get me to and from this place. Maura does enough already. I'd like to be able to let her get back to her job full time again."

"Maura is your girlfriend?"

Jane shook her head sadly. "No, she's just my best friend." Emily hummed thoughtfully as she helped Jane get into the car. "Hey, why don't we go get lunch? I'm feeling the need for a greasy burger."

"You're on!"

Jane sent Maura a quick text, letting her know she was out for lunch and not to worry about her.

Maura frowned at the text. She had been looking forward to checking on the brunette and asking her how the meeting with Eric's company went. She was curious about whether Jane was going to be able to handle the fact that she wouldn't be a cop anymore. But most of all, she was a little jealous that this meant someone else was going to be taking Jane for lunch somewhere.

"I have no right to feel this way," Maura mumbled. She thought about how she was going to fill the next hour, briefly considering going to get Ian but brushing that off. He could wait until morning. Besides, she needed to be ready in case Jane needed her to take her to her PT appointment.

Unless this… person who was stealing Jane away for lunch was going to take her, and Maura wasn't sure she liked that thought.

"You look like someone stole your fudge clusters," she heard Frost say as he walked in. She started and then smiled at the detective. "I thought I'd come see how you and Jane were holding up."

Maura nodded. "I think she's doing well. Physically she's healing nicely, and despite a little stiffness in the knee she'll be as close to good as new as she can get."

"I'm glad to hear it," he said softly. "How is she dealing with the whole possibility of not being able to come back?"

"I don't know," Maura sighed. "She doesn't like to talk about it. And when she does she… It's never a good experience when she does. Usually she just goes and hides for a few hours, but sometimes she'll space out for a little while and then she's so easy to snap at the smallest of things. I hate that this is happening to her, Barry."

"Yeah, I can understand that," he said. "Jane is more than a partner; she's my friend and my family. And I know Korsak feels the same way. Even if she's not gonna be working with us, I hope she'll let us continue to be there for her like that."

Maura smiled. "I'm sure in time she'll be more than comfortable with you guys again. She had an interview with a security firm today, so if that went well maybe she'll be more open to letting you in again sooner than we anticipate."

"That would be great."

* * *

**So, I've got some plans for this. Ian and Emily play a couple big roles, mostly comedic especially in Ian's case, and even Eric is going to be a little more common. I'm hoping to pull in the rest of the characters sporadically over the next few chapters as well.**

**And as a side note... I was getting ready to post this chapter and got distracted by the properties page. Just wanted to say, you guys are all awesome. 75 followers. Wow. I'm pretty stoked that so many people are keeping up with this...**


	7. Chapter 7

**This one's a bit longer, by almost a thousand words (go me!). And I struggled with it, mostly because I'm sick as hell and so my brain isn't functioning right still... So if there's anything really bad or hard to understand, please point it out to me so I can look it over and fix it.**

**Anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

Jane and Emily walked in an hour after Maura arrived home to an empty house, where she fixed a simple salad for her lunch. When the door opened, she'd looked up more out of habit than alarm. Jane wobbled in on her crutches, looking rather worn out, and was followed by Emily carrying a small bag with leftover boxes in it. Jane grinned at Maura when she noticed her sitting at the counter.

"Hey, you," she said as she looked her over. It wasn't odd for Jane to check Maura out sometimes, and Maura hadn't really minded the attention before even after Jane's confession towards having feelings for her. But she couldn't help but be confused when Jane walked in with another woman whom she'd obviously had lunch with, while still hobbling on crutches, and was now checking her out. Because she was confused by this, she realized she was a little self-conscious about the subtle attention.

"Welcome back," Maura said with an almost shy smile. "You look like you've had a long day."

Jane chuckled. "You can definitely say that. I think it would have been a lot less long if I hadn't had these," she said, her voice going soft. Then, as though her melancholy had never happened, she grinned again. "Hey, this is Emily. She's going to be my sidekick at the security place."

"It's a firm, Jane," Emily scowled playfully. Jane just shrugged, and rolled her eyes. Emily turned to Maura and stepped forward, offering a hand. "I'm Emily Thompson, Eric's younger sister. He's kind of put me in charge of Jane until she gets used to the job. I'm actually in IT but I'm not completely unaware of what Jane's position will include."

"It's nice to meet you," Maura said politely, shaking Emily's hand. Then she focused on Jane. "I take it you decided to accept the job?"

"Yeah," Jane said. "It'll be a lot more boring than the BPD, but it's something. And, I can get started even while I'm still healing so I won't be sitting around all day. I figured if you wanted to go back to full days in the morgue that would be a pretty good set up."

Maura nodded, not really sure if she liked the idea that Jane seemed to be proposing. If she went back to full days, she wouldn't be as available to take Jane to her PT. And if she didn't take her, then that meant Emily would probably be taking her. This normally wouldn't bother Maura, but right now she was watching as the woman helped Jane get seated on the couch and Maura couldn't help but feel like the woman was encroaching on her territory, especially since it took so much work for her to get Jane to help her with past injuries as well as this one.

"That does sound like it could be a possibility," Maura said softly, trying not to sound bothered by this but knowing there was no way she was pulling that off.

"Well, I'm going to head back to the office," Emily said, smiling at Jane. "I've got a few more things I need to set up today if you want to start soon."

"Yeah, you should get that done. I don't think I'll be going in tomorrow, though. It's Maura's day off," Jane said. "But you can expect me in the next day for a couple hours."

"I am not letting you go in on the weekend, Jane. Monday morning," Emily told her. "I'll come and get you around eight."

Jane shook her head and looked at Maura. "For my first day, do you think you could take me, Maura?"

"Of course, Jane," Maura told her with a little surprise in her tone. She hadn't expected that Jane would still want her to do things now that she had a "sidekick" to help her instead.

Emily smiled and nodded. "All right, then I'll be waiting for you on Monday. Call me if you need anything, all right, boss?"

Jane groaned. "Don't go calling me that. I'm not your boss."

Emily laughed, and then they said goodbye and she left the house. Maura waiting a couple minutes before she put the leftover boxes in the refrigerator and then joined Jane on the couch.

"She seems quite interesting," Maura commented.

"She is," Jane agreed. "She was in her third year of college as an Information Security and Computer Engineering double major when Eric first created the company. As soon as she graduated he hired her on because she was damn good at what she does. And she doesn't sound full of herself when she talks about it, kind of like how you never hold your job over anyone's head. Well, except for Pike, but he deserves it."

Maura hummed absently. "She seems to like you."

"I hope so. It's going to suck working with her as close as we're going to for a while if she didn't," Jane joked. She reached for Maura's hand and grinned, trying to catch the doctor's attention. When she failed, her mouth twisted into a frown and her brows furrowed. "Maura, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Jane," Maura said gently, turning and offering a small smile. She could tell Jane wasn't convinced, and she sighed. The last thing she wanted was to make Jane uncomfortable regarding her jealousy. Her mind sped through other things that could be bothering her. "Ian called me this morning." She watched Jane's face shift into more of an angry look, her hand withdrawing and arms crossing over her chest, and felt a little better about her feelings about Jane's new sidekick. "He wanted me to come and pick him up earlier, but I told him I'd see what I could do in the morning instead."

Jane hummed and was silent for a moment. "If you want to go get him, go. I'll call… Ma or Frankie or Emily to take me to my PT appointment," she told her softly.

"Jane, I don't want to go get him. I want to be here for you," Maura said, reaching over and pulling one of Jane's arms to take hold of her hand. "You are far more important to me than he is. And it's his fault he is where he is. I'm sure a couple nights in lockup won't be too bad for him."

"You're already disrupting your life for me as it is, Maura," Jane said softly. "I feel bad enough for it, even though I've enjoyed being selfish about the therapy. I don't mind when you see me stumble at the bars or have to be practically soaked in Icy Hot before I can even stand to move my body again. I don't think I could handle Ma seeing me like that, but I could probably be okay with letting Frankie. And, if push comes to shove, Emily-"

"Jane," Maura said quickly, not wanting to hear about how close she and Emily had gotten over lunch, "despite the fact that I don't like to see you in pain, I am really grateful that you allow me over anyone else to see you like that. You trust me with every part of you." She looked down at the hand that she held between her own, not daring to meet Jane's eyes. "I know you don't want anyone to see you weak, and I understand. And if being able to keep you in your comfort zone for you therapy means I take you then I'll do whatever it takes to do that. You mean so much to me, Jane, and I don't want to see you close yourself off from me."

"I would never close you off," Jane said, her voice strong and unwavering. "I may block you from time to time, but I will _never_ close you off." She reached over to tilt Maura's head up. "I love you, Maura. I try not to say it a lot, because I know feel self-conscious about it, but I do. And I love you enough that I can trust you with everything, including my weaknesses."

Maura felt her eyes watering, and was grateful when Jane moved her hand so that she could lower her chin again and hide her tears long enough to get composed again.

"Thank you, Jane."

"No, Maura, thank you," Jane said, leaning over and place a chaste kiss to her forehead. "Now come on, I need to get prepped for PT and you know you want to change your clothes again." Maura giggled at the tease and wiped the corners of her eyes gently before smiling up at Jane. "There you go. You know, when you smile I feel better."

Maura rolled her eyes. "Stop being so corny, Jane," she teased, giving her a playful shove before standing. On her way to the hall, she paused and looked back. "You know, I always feel better when you smile too."

Jane grinned at that, and watched Maura disappear to get ready. Alone, Jane fought to get to her feet so she could go change out of her suit and into shorts and a tank. She still felt self-conscious about being out in public with her knee visible, even if it was wrapped up and in a brace, so she wore sweats to the outpatient center and removed them for the actual therapy.

When she had finally gotten changed, Jane struggled with her crutches on her way to the living room where Maura was waiting for her. The doctor watched her with a slight frown, her eyes taking in how hard Jane seemed to be working.

"Are you sure you're going to be up for this?" Maura asked.

Jane nodded. "I figured I'd ask her if we can avoid the really, really hard stuff today and just try to work on the mobility and strengthening of just the leg. I'm wearing out," she admitted softly. "I hadn't expected to be quite so active at the firm today."

Maura got up and helped Jane get to the garage so that she could get into the car. "I think taking it easy today might be a good idea. You don't want you to stress your knee out too much and reverse all the good you've done so far."

The therapy session went well, but when the two made it back to the house Jane was a lot more exhausted than she'd ever been after therapy, and they'd taken it easy today. She was ready to just sprawl out in Maura's tub and soak for a while, even if she'd have to keep her knee out of the water still. They stumbled into the house together and were surprised to smell something cooking.

"There you two are!" Angela exclaimed with a bright smile. "Jane! You look exhausted! Have you been overworking yourself again? You should be careful, you know, or else-"

"MA!" Jane snapped. "Dammit, will you just shut up? I'm tired and I'm sore and I just want to lie down and pass out for the next three days. Please, don't fuss over this."

Angela stood there silently, shocked that Jane's tone wasn't her normal whine or frustrated growl when she had to deal with her overbearing mother. This was pure anger, something she hadn't ever seen directed at her from her daughter. She glanced at Maura, who had dropped her gaze to avoid her eyes and just proceeded to help Jane down the hall to the master bedroom so that she could soak in the tub for a while.

Once Jane was settled, Maura walked back to the kitchen. Angela was still working on the dinner she'd started, her eyes obviously holding back tears.

"Angela…" Maura said softly, biting her lip in a moment of indecision before walking over and rubbing the woman's back. "She's been through a lot today. Please don't take her anger the wrong way."

"I know," Angela said, her voice wavering with the unshed tears. "I just never thought that she'd ever get upset like that with me. We've gone around in various tiffs but never has she spoken to me like that. I don't know how to handle it. Maura, what will we do if she doesn't become our Janie again?"

Maura smiled warmly. "She's always been our Jane, even just then she was our Jane. This is a very stressful time for her. We need to do what we can to support her and be there in case she needs us. She doesn't need to feel like she's being smothered or judged." Angela nodded, unable to really voice anything else. "However, I think that if we give her a little time to adjust, she'll start getting better. Today she had a job interview and was hired as a security manager or consultant of some sort. I'm not sure of all the details, because we haven't really discussed them fully, but she seems to be rather enthusiastic about it."

Angela's face brightened a little as she turned to Maura at the news. "Really, you think she's going to be okay at this new job?" Maura nodded. "Will it be safer?"

"I believe so, but I can't guarantee that. She'll be working with a security company and will mostly be in charge of the security guards from what I understand. I'm sure that means that there may be times that she'll fill in for a security position, but mostly I believe it will be safer."

"Good," Angela said with a nod. "I'm not saying that I'm glad Jane's out of the police business, because I know she loved it and she was good at it, but with everything she's been through I think it'd be good for her to have a less stressful job for a while."

Maura nodded. "I must admit, I'm rather torn about the concept. Part of me is glad Jane will be out of danger, but the other part of me will miss her presence while working on cases. And I know that she's going to miss it, so that's another reason part of me doesn't really like the fact that she's going to be leaving the precinct."

Angela was studying her oddly.

"What?"

"You're such a good friend, Maura."

"Well, thank you." Maura's tone was a little suspicious.

"I know how my daughter feels about you." Maura didn't bother to hide her surprise. "When she first met you, and I mean officially and not in the coffee shop that first time," Maura smiled at that, "she came home and told me that she'd had a crush on a girl in high school. I hadn't been surprised, and that encouraged her to go on and say that she'd had a couple other crushes on girls since then but never really pursued anything. She told me about how she'd met the most beautiful girl she'd ever seen at work, and that she couldn't believe that she worked on dead people. I remember trying not to laugh at the expression on her face, because if I had she probably wouldn't have gone on to tell me that even if the woman was odd and a little hard to understand sometimes she couldn't help but want to be around her."

Maura was blushing at this point, not having realized that Jane had had feelings for her for that long. Angela seemed to read her mind as she gave her a pat on the arm and went back to the sauce in front of her. They stood there in silent contemplation for a moment, and then she heard Jane yell for her. She motioned for Angela to stay and walked down to the bathroom. She stopped in the door way to see Jane sitting on the edge of the tub with her towel wrapped around her sulking. The snort of laughter that was emitted by the doctor was unavoidable.

"Oh yeah, thanks," Jane grumbled, pouting a little.

"I'm sorry, Jane," Maura said with a smile, reaching over to the right of the door on the bedroom side of the wall and grabbing the crutches that were resting there. "I had forgotten that I'd taken them when I had gotten you settled on the edge of the tube earlier. You had said you didn't need any assistance." Jane's pout grew more pronounced. Maura shook her head and helped Jane up and got her situated on the crutches. "Do you need anything else?"

"I think I've got this," Jane said with a timid smile. "Hey, is Ma still downstairs?"

"I'm not sure."

Jane nodded and made her way into the room where Maura had laid out Jane's sweats and a tank top to sleep in, as well as clean underwear. "Thanks for helping me out, Maura."

"I'll always help you, Jane," Maura said from the doorway, "even if it's less life-threatening. Actually, I'd prefer that, though it's not a requirement."

Jane laughed and turned to start dressing, leaving Maura to go back to the kitchen only to find Angela gone and a note telling them that the older Rizzoli woman had gone back to the guest house. Maura smiled and set the note aside before checking on the sauce and pasta.

Jane emerged a few minutes later and looked around.

"She's not here anymore," Maura told her, knowing immediately who Jane had been looking for.

"I'll have to call her later," Jane said as she made her way to the couch and settled in, sounding even more tired than before. Maura hummed and fixed Jane a plate and brought her the food, a drink, and her pain pills. Jane took them and then waited for Maura to join her with her own food before digging in.

"So, tomorrow…" Maura prompted gently after a minute or two of silent eating.

Jane laughed.

* * *

**I hope that wasn't too hard to read. The next chapter will entertain the Ian thing again, because Maura hasn't forgotten about what she'd told him. I hope to have a little fun with that, but not tonight.**

**Lemme know what you think by leaving your little reviews/comments. I enjoy reading them, even if I don't get a chance to respond to all of them.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'll warn you, I wrote this after only about three hours of sleep. I was still awake at six this morning so I started this chapter with one train of thought in mind, fell asleep while I was typing it, and then woke up and continued it only to realize that I had forgotten my original thought process from my sleep addled mind at six this morning. Therefore, this chapter wasn't nearly as fun as I'd meant it to be. I actually found it rather dull, but that might be because I'm sitting here half asleep trying to stay awake so that I might actually fall asleep tonight so that I'll have had sleep before having to work...**

**Anyway, I hope this isn't as horrible as it seems to me.**

* * *

Jane sulked over breakfast, partly because she was awake at seven in the morning to spend as much time with Maura as possible only to be reminded that Maura was going to go spring Ian from lock up, which was the second reason she was sulking. She shifted her cereal around in her bowl as she waited for Maura to return from prepping herself to leave in her bedroom, her appetite now long gone. When the doctor appeared again, though, she quickly took a bite and looked up at her. Maura paused as she entered the kitchen and then made her way to Jane's side.

"I won't be long," she said, rubbing Jane's arm. "And I'm not bringing him back here. I know you're not happy with him over his last visit still, and I honestly don't want him here." Jane grunted and shoveled more cereal in her mouth. "Jane…"

"You're gonna be late."

Knowing there was no use in fighting with Jane when she was like this, she sighed and gave Jane a defeated look that the brunette didn't see before making her way to the door. She paused at the entryway and fussed with her purse, hoping that Jane would say something before she left. When nothing was said after about thirty seconds of searching her purse for keys that weren't in there, Maura gave up and just left the house.

Jane turned when she heard the door latch closed and then went to Maura's room, a sacred place she had never walked into before. They had always stuck to the guest room if Jane stayed over, and neither of them had really cared. Now, though, Jane had the need to lay down in Maura's bed. Not one to ignore most of her impulses, she crawled in on "her" side of the bed and curled up, pulling Maura's pillow up to her chest and burying her face in it for comfort.

Maura drove to the Boston Police precinct building that was situated in East Boston. It wasn't a very large building and mostly contained beat cops and served as a holding place for most of the people they grab at the airport for various crimes. She parked in the designated police parking area and walked inside. A rather bored looking desk officer looked up at her and immediately perked up. The officers here may not get much action, but they knew who Maura was.

"Hey, Doctor Isles," he said with a smirk, standing up and letting his eyes move straight to her chest when she stopped looking directly at him. "What can I do for ya?"

Maura ignored the pointed inappropriate staring and looked around. "I'm here to pick up Ian Faulkner from lock up," she told him. His head shot up with a frown. "I was supposed to meet and Officer Reynolds, I believe."

A young woman walked into the lobby then and cleared her throat. "That would be me, Doctor," she said with a small smile. Her eyes were a little sunken from exhaustion and she appeared to be favoring one of her arms. Doctor Isles thought it might be because of a shoulder injury. "Follow me, Ma'am."

They entered an elevator and went down a floor. This building wasn't equipped with a fully functioning morgue, though it did have a small autopsy room for a basic procedure, but there wasn't a lab or other testing equipment. They didn't go near that room, though, instead walking into another section of the basement where holding cells were located.

"Maura," Ian said softly, standing and walking to the bars of his cell.

Maura glanced at him before turning to Officer Reynolds and the officer that was sitting in this dungeon. "What do I need to do to have him released?"

The officer at the desk held out a form. "Fill this out and pay his bail of two grand."

Maura shot Ian a look. "You don't have two grand to bail yourself out, Ian?" He smiled at her sheepishly, and she turned back to the paperwork to fill it out quickly. "I suppose I'll have to go up to the Bursar's office to pay the bail?"

"No, ma'am, we'll take that and take care of it for you."

After handing back the paperwork, she got out her checkbook and wrote out a check to hand to the officers. While she was doing that, Reynolds opened Ian's cell door to release him. It didn't take long to be back outside, and Maura hurried to her car. She was about to get in to return home when she realized Ian had followed her to her car.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I thought we were going to head back to your place," Ian said simply.

Maura narrowed her eyes. "No, I'm going home and you're going to find someplace else to stay. I have many more important things to do today than deal with you. You're lucky I agreed to come and get you out of lock up."

"Maura…"

"I don't want to hear it, Ian," Maura scowled.

"Can I at least stay with you while I make arrangements to get to California?" Ian asked softly. "I'm required to check in at the main office there to determine my position in the Frontiers program."

Maura wanted to say no, because she knew Jane would be upset by his presence and if Jane was upset then it was very likely that she would sulk and be snappy. However, she couldn't bring herself to say no to him despite every part of her besides the little part that still loved him saying no.

"Fine," she said sharply. "However, you will be staying in the guest room once I've moved Jane into the master room."

Ian's face furrowed with confusion, but one look from Maura told him that if he so much as uttered a single word regarding that topic his presence wouldn't be permitted any longer. He was happy to shut up if it meant he didn't have to sleep in lock up another night, or try to find a shelter that still had an open bed when night fell since he didn't have any money for a hotel.

Maura pulled up in her driveway and frowned at the unfamiliar car that was sitting there. She and Ian got out of her Prius and headed inside, only to find Jane sprawled out on the couch with her head on Emily's lap watching sports highlights on one of the channels from the channel package that Maura only purchased because Jane enjoyed it. Jane sat up and grinned when she saw Maura, the grin faltering when she saw Ian.

"Jane, I'm going to go get the rest of your things from the guest room and move them to mine so that Ian can occupy that room for his brief," she emphasized that word with a pointed look in Ian's direction, "stay here." She looked back to see Jane nod and lean back to lay her head on Emily's lap again. Maura didn't want to look at that image anymore and hurried down the hall to the guest room.

Although Jane slept in the guest room, most of her things were already in Maura's room. She had her own space in the closet there and a drawer that only contained her things. Her hygiene products were in the master bathroom because even if she slept in the guest room she always seemed to shower and prepare for the day in Maura's bathroom with the exception of her toothbrush, which still sat in the guest bathroom. Because of this, Maura only had to pick up a few articles of clothing and a bag of clothes and other assorted things from the closet before deeming it prepped for Ian.

Jane was asleep when Maura walked back into the living room. Emily was still there acting as her pillow, watching the highlights and massaging her head. Maura wasn't surprised to see Jane asleep with that going on; Jane was always easy to get to fall asleep when her head was rubbed. It just depended on whether the sleep was restful.

"Ian, if you want to change the bedding on the guest room you're welcome to," Maura told him before walking towards the couch. Her attention moved to the brunette as she saw her hand twitch, her tell she'd noticed of a nightmare flaring up.

"I'm sorry, Emily, but I need to ask you to get up slowly," Maura said, helping to lift Jane enough that she could slip out from under her. "Would you mind going to the bathroom over there and searching for my first aid kit? It should be under the sink but I'm not sure." Emily nodded and walked away, her face furrowed but not asking questions. "Ian, please go and change the bedding." With her voice sounding almost too sweet, Ian was quick to listen.

Jane didn't jolt awake like she usually did when she was having a nightmare and someone tried to wake her up, her eyes opened when Maura looked down after giving everyone instructions elsewhere. It was the grin on Jane's face that made Maura's face twist into a questioning look.

"You're bossy," the brunette teased, causing Maura to frown and smack her playfully. "Ow! And abusive! I should call the cops on you."

"And do you really think they'd believe I was abusive to you?" Maura asked with a twinkle in her eye. "I doubt they'd even respond if you called in with that claim. Now, if it were the other way around…"

Jane chuckled and shook her head as Emily came back, the first aid kit in hand. "Sorry for taking a moment, Maura," she said, looking at Jane with concern. She was observant, Maura decided, if she had realized that she'd been asked to leave because there might be something wrong with Jane. Maura took the kit with a gentle smile and opened it to get out the small bottle of peroxide that was in there.

"It's all right. Thank you, Emily," she said softly, setting up her materials on the coffee table. She was going to remove Jane's brace to clean her incisions once Emily had left and Ian could be convinced to stay in another room for a while. Or perhaps she could convince him to leave the house for the time being.

That thought was debunked when Ian emerged with bedding and walked into the laundry room. He paused when he saw all the medical supplies. "Do you need any help with that, Maura?"

"No, I'm more than capable of this task," Maura told him, not bothering to look up. "Would you mind going into town and getting a few things though?"

"I'd be glad to do that for you," Emily shot in happily. Maura looked at Jane to see her trying not to laugh and frowned. "Would you like me to get a sheet of paper so that you can dictate a list to me?"

Maura smiled and nodded. "Yes, there should be a small notepad with a pen in the top drawer on the right side of the island. It will probably have a few items already noted on the front sheet. Those are things that weren't pertinent over the last few days but that I wanted to get in the future. But I am starting to run low on a few things that I'm going to need over the next few days."

Emily found the notepad easily and walked back into the living room to sit at Jane's feet, the notepad open and pen ready. Maura listed off a very specific list of at least two dozen items, and Emily wrote down each one diligently, right down to which store to go to in order to get a few specific items. It seemed her prayers were answered when she mentioned not knowing what one item was as Ian walked back in and he was quick to suggest he go along.

"That was almost too easy," Jane said with a grin. At Maura's questioning glance, she clarified, "Getting them both to go away for a while. I'm glad you'd thought that up, but I'd have been able to get Emily to leave without her and Ian having to go on a grocery run."

"She seemed plenty pleased to go for you," Maura said softly, cutting through the gauze wrapped around Jane's knee.

After a moment of reflection, Jane chuckled. "Emily just wants to help me out, Maura. She thinks I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread." Maura opened her mouth to dissect that phrase, but Jane put a hand over her mouth quickly. "She's got a crush on me. It's cute, in a way, because she's almost juvenile in how she expresses it. Today she called me to ask if she could do anything to get my office personalized for me and I said something to be a smart ass. Somehow she decided that I said I needed her to come by here because you were out. And then she told me I looked tired and made me lay down on her lap. Of course, it wasn't until she added she was going to rub my head for me that I agreed. I'm a sucker for that kind of treatment," Jane added with a wink.

Maura wasn't amused, and Jane quickly realized it. She sighed and dropped her shoulders, catching Maura's attention. "I'm not upset that you two are becoming close," she said. "You two will be doing a lot of things together, and it will be nice for you to have a friendly face at the firm."

"Then why do you look like I just kicked your turtle?"

"Tortoise," Maura corrected automatically. "And I don't look like that." Jane raised an eyebrow and Maura sighed. "All right, I'm not entirely sure then. She just… I don't like her very much, which is odd because she seems like a rather nice person."

Jane nodded. "She's pretty nice, that's true. And she loves the Red Sox and hates the Yankees like a true Bostonian should, even though she's from Detroit. We were bonding over hockey, though she's not quite a Bruins fan and she didn't play field hockey but ice hockey in high school. I mean, she's a fun person, you know?"

Maura nodded. "You do seem to enjoy having her around." She dabbed a gauze pad that she'd soaked in the peroxide over the incisions, watching closing to see if there was any sign of infection or any other issues. Jane twitched her leg at a couple places, but Maura wasn't too concerned since she didn't hiss or make any other noise indicating pain. Since it was just the two of them, Jane wouldn't be quite as quiet about pain as this if there was anything substantial. "Do you… like her?" she asked softly.

Jane was confused for a moment. "Yeah," she said slowly. "Wait, do mean like romantically, like the way she likes me?" At Maura's nod, she chuckled and reached over to squeeze Maura's shoulder. "Nah, not like I like you," she explained. "I mean, maybe if we had met with different circumstances it wouldn't have been so bad and I might've given her a shot, you know, but I just can't even think like that so long as I'm waiting on you."

Maura frowned. "What do you mean, waiting on me?"

"You haven't said yes or no," Jane answered, laying back on the couch and closing her eyes. "Even if you say no in the end, until I am given that as the answer I can't even make myself think of another person like that. It just feels wrong."

Maura wasn't sure what to say to that, especially since she was still confused. She wanted to talk it over with Jane to try and figure her feelings out, but since her feelings and confusion revolved around Jane she didn't feel like it would be right. Instead, she focused on bandaging the knee up again while deep in thought. When she was done, she looked up at Jane's face to see that she was asleep again. Smiling fondly, she leaned over to kiss Jane's forehead.

"I do love you, Jane," she said softly, running a hand over Jane's head. "When you're doing better, maybe I'll be able to tell you how much."

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**Hopefully the next chapter has a bit of drama in it, likely revolving around a showdown between Jane and Ian if I can actually convince myself to type what I want to type. And I think it would be funny as hell to see Jane get up in Ian's face while struggling to stand with the help of crutches and trying to be intimidating. Because you know she'd do it, and it would work...**

**Give me some love, peeps. Love and comments.**


	9. Chapter 9

**This was not how I had intended to deal with Ian, I'll let you know in advance. However, he annoys me and I forget that every time I try to use him. As such, I'm most definitely not happy with the way things go down this chapter but since I didn't want to deal with him any longer I don't particularly care that this is what happened. Besides, it should still be rather entertaining.**

* * *

Jane was watching Ian and Maura cooking dinner and sulking over the fact that Maura had agreed with Ian about her staying seated while they prepared the meal. She needed the rest, after all, she'd been told. That didn't mean she had to be happy about it, though, she grumbled internally as she watched them interact. She knew Maura well enough to see that she was uncomfortable, but it wasn't beyond what she could handle. Unfortunately, when they did speak it was in low tones so nothing ever really reached Jane's ears. She did hear Maura snap a couple times for him to drop it, so that made Jane feel a little better. Ian was definitely getting cock-blocked over something.

At some point she fell asleep, though Jane could have sworn she'd been wide awake during the last moment awake she could remember. Opening her eyes with the gentle shaking, Jane grinned at Maura's gentle expression.

"Hey, beautiful," she said at a volume just above a whisper and was delighted to see Maura's cheeks color a little at the words. Her eyes fell closed again despite telling herself to keep them open. After a couple more shakes from Maura, Jane was conscious enough to be helped to her feet.

"Do you need any assistance?" Ian asked as he walked towards them.

"Nah, we're good," Jane told him as Maura helped her get up so that she could get steady on the crutches.

They had only just barely started when Ian tried again.

"Just fuck off," Jane snapped at him. Ian's eyes narrowed. "We've been doing this well enough without you so far, so we can continue without you. Stop trying to act like you're as selfless as you want people to think. If you want to do something useful, get the fuck out of my way when I am on my feet. Got it?"

Maura gave her an encouraging squeeze and Jane focused on the task of getting to her feet again. Luckily this time Ian didn't try to interrupt again, choosing instead to go to the bathroom with a mumbled excuse of washing his hands.

"Sorry for snapping at him," Jane grumbled as she finally managed to get upright.

"I'd rather you snap at him instead than me," Maura teased. "Besides, if you hadn't, I might have if he'd asked again. I don't particularly enjoy the idea of him helping you with anything right now."

"Not even if I had another ingrown toenail?" Jane joked, getting her crutches settled under her arms and slowly making her way to the table.

"Not even then," Maura said as she grabbed a small bottle of hand sanitizer and forced a drop on Jane once she was seated at the table. Since Ian was here, Jane decided she wouldn't argue over eating at the table today. She enjoyed eating at a table, but for most of her recovery so far she hadn't been able to move herself to the table until recently. And like hell would she let Ian think she'd been forcing bad habits onto Maura while he was here.

Shortly enough, Ian joined them at the table and they started eating in silence.

After dinner, which stayed silent, Maura helped Jane into the master bedroom for a bath at her request. Now that she'd done this so many times, Jane was getting to be an expert and getting in and out of the bathtub on her own without getting her incisions too wet.

"_If you would just take a shower you wouldn't have to worry about your incisions. You can get them wet, you just can't soak them in soapy water," Maura had told her after the first few tries that had managed to fail and need her assistance to get out of the bath._

"_I don't really want to," had been Jane's response. "Your bathtub is amazing, and I only have a shower so while I have the ability and the time I'd like to take baths."_

Unlike during previous baths, though, once Jane was settled, Maura came back in and settled by the door with a book to read. Jane watched her for a couple minutes before she realized that Maura was staying until she was done.

"If you're going to be babysitting my bath time, can you at least talk to me?" Jane asked, catching Maura's attention.

The doctor smiled. "If you'd like certainly can," she said.

"Great. Why don't you start by telling why you've decided to babysit my bath time?" Jane asked, making sure Maura knew that despite her tone she wasn't really upset by this turn of events but rather just curious.

Maura's smile turned a little sheepish. "I really don't want to sit in the living room with Ian alone," she admitted. "He's convinced I'm going to realize I'd be happy with him and we'll get married and I'll go back to Africa with him."

Jane snorted. "Does he not realize that if you'd really wanted to go back to Africa you'd be there with him already? I offered to take you to the airport the last time he showed up."

"I know. I told him that, minus the part where you had offered to take me after his last visit," Maura said thoughtfully. "I'm not sure why he thinks I would want to go back to Africa. I enjoyed the experience, but I love what I do here a lot more. You would think that saving the lives of those sick and dying in those countries would be more fulfilling, but I feel more fulfilled working in that morgue than I ever did in Africa."

"Would you agree to his offer if he'd said he wanted to stay here?" Maura didn't answer right away. Jane frowned and after a moment's pause, she tried again, "Maura, would you say yes if he said he'd stay?"

Maura sighed. "I don't know, Jane. I want to say no, because I'd like to think that proverbial chapter of my love life has closed. And if I ignored the way he's been treating you I probably wouldn't be able to say no."

"You still love him."

"Yes, I do."

Jane hummed. "I guess… I can understand that. It's hard to just set your feelings for someone aside if you love them as much as you love him."

"But do I love him that much anymore?"

"I guess you'll have to figure that out."

Maura nodded and turned back to her book for a moment before flipping to the beginning and reading out loud. Surprised to hear her voice change a little, sounding softer and almost hypnotic, Jane wasn't able to catch the first paragraph or two but was quickly drawn into the sound and relaxed. She'd have to remember this side of Maura. Bedtime stories for kids would definitely be something the doctor would be good at, she thought before she realized what those thoughts were implying.

After a chapter of reading, Maura put aside the book and made Jane get out of the tub before she got too much more comfortable. Jane whined for a while, but eventually just did as she was told and pulled herself from the water while Maura went to find a pair of pajamas, basketball shorts and a tank top, and underwear for Jane to put on once she was dried off.

"I love your bath," Jane said as she stumbled into the bedroom and to "her" side of the bed. Once she was settled, Maura helped her put the crutches out of the way but within reach should Jane need to get up in the middle of the night, and then settled in on "her" side of the bed. "Hey, would you read some more before we go to sleep?"

Maura smiled and nodded, picking up her book again and opening it to the next chapter. Feeling Jane snuggling up into her side, Maura couldn't deny how wonderful it felt to be lying there snuggled up and doing something as trivial as reading to her. Midway through the chapter, though, Maura's little world of her and Jane was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Maura?" she heard Ian say, followed by a growl from Jane before she disentangled herself and rolled over so that her back was to the door.

Maura sighed and set the book aside before walking to the door and opening it. "What?"

Ian visibly winced. "I was hoping we could talk?"

"I'm sorry, Ian, but I'm on call this weekend. I'd really like to get to sleep soon on the chance that I get a call in a few hours," Maura said, glad she had that excuse to fall back on.

"Maura, we really-"

"Ian, please don't do this now. We can discuss the topic further tomorrow. In the meantime, I would like to sleep and hope that if a call does come in it waits until closer to dawn. Besides, you've told me repeatedly to think about it. Do you think that trying to talk to me about it every hour is letting me think about it?"

Ian sighed and shook his head. "You're right. Good night and sleep well." Ian leaned in to give her a kiss and Maura turned away from him before shutting the door. When she looked at the bed, she sighed at the realization that Jane wasn't paying any attention. At least not visually, which Maura was almost disappointed about. If Jane could only see how much-

Maura shook her head and moved to the bathroom to prepare for bed herself, and then joined Jane. Lying on her back, she waited for Jane to roll over and inch closer like she usually did when they slept together anymore. When an hour passed and the brunette didn't move, she sighed inwardly and rolled over so her back was to her friend.

Upon waking, Maura was surprised to see that there was sunlight streaming through the window and into her room. As consciousness returned to her, she realized that she was alone in bed and that she hadn't gone to bed that way.

"Jane?" she whispered, her voice a little husky from sleep. There was no sign of the other woman anywhere, and Maura frowned at that before getting up and pulling her robe on. Normally she didn't bother with one, because she rarely entertained guests this early anymore unless Jane had stayed overnight, but one of the things she quickly remembered was that Ian was here, something she would have forgotten if it weren't for the fact that as she had stood up she'd heard Jane's voice raise and a crash from the kitchen. Once her robe was tied shut, she heard a larger thud and ran from the room. "Jane?"

"Yes?" Jane answered, sprawled out on the floor with a broken crutch beside her, a shattered bowl with what looked like flour debris near where her feet were laying, and Ian leaning against the counter with a hand over his right cheek and signs of blood through his fingers and down his chin.

Maura was instantly at Jane's side, helping her up. "What happened?"

"That dick walked in while I was trying to prepare pancakes, which is like the only thing I can fix that you'll eat, and he tried to tell me to get off my feet and he'd take care of your breakfast, which he followed up with getting out your yogurt and oatmeal and some other healthy crap that I know you like to eat because it's good for you but that you've been eating all week because you've been rushing through your mornings to make sure I'm taken care of before you disappear until lunch."

Maura smiled at that, not having realized Jane had known she had rushed through her breakfasts all week for that reason. Despite not having a set schedule for now, she still felt obligated to be there on time in the morning if she was going to be there so long as Jane was taken care of first.

"Anyway, I told him he should go take a seat because he's a guest and shouldn't be doing jack while I'm capable of doing something. Then _he_ had the nerve to tell me that I was a guest and injured and so that made me half as able to fix breakfast as he was. So naturally I was a bit pissed and we started a shouting match and I hit him in the face with my crutch and he pushed me to ground."

Jane was sat at the counter, her one crutch still in her hand. Maura lifted the broken crutch, handed it to Ian, and told him to take a seat. She then called Frankie and told him to come over immediately. Jane looked at her with confusion, which Maura ignored as she leaned against the sink side of her kitchen counter and glared at the man she had always claimed was the love of her life. Right now, though, she felt like he was nothing more than a cockroach to her.

"You were allowed into my house, Ian, because you have nowhere to go until you can contact your program lead and get a flight or a ride to wherever they send you next. This wasn't a problem for me, because I don't mind offering you my assistance. You do very good work and I admire that. However, you were allowed in here as nothing more than a guest that I was showing hospitality to. Jane is not my guest, Ian. Nor is she incapable of making pancakes despite her leg. You were merely being a man that felt threatened and wanted to attempt to show off to me because you think it would help you put a ring on my finger so that my ass would be on a plane to Africa with you," Maura said. She paused, letting the words sink in.

"Maura, that's-" Ian's excuses were stopped by a raise of Maura's hand.

"By attacking my best friend in my home after I graciously allowed you to stay, you have betrayed my trust and my faith in you as a man." Maura was interrupted by Frankie rushing in, dressed to the nines for work. "Ah, good morning Frankie," she said with a bright smile. He stared at her in confusion.

"Uh, hi, Doc," he said quickly, eyes darting to Jane and then to the broken crutch Ian was holding. "Is everything all right?"

Maura's face turned almost mischievous. "Yes. This man assaulted Jane. I'd like you to arrest him."

Both people sitting at the counter looked at her in shock. Ian recovered the quickest. "Maura, surely this is some sort of joke?"

"No, it most certainly is not," Maura told him. "There are a lot of things I can ignore when it comes to you, Ian. Rather, there are a lot of things I _have_ ignored. I don't wish to be blind in regards to those things any longer. Of all those I have ever truly loved, Ian, you have been among the top few. I'm quite frightened by my judgment when faced with that realization."

Jane snickered and moved her good crutch a little, which Maura ignored despite having some idea of what the woman was going to do with it. Instead, the doctor turned to Frankie and nodded, making the youngest Rizzoli shrug and get out his handcuffs. As he pulled Ian to his feet and started reciting his Miranda rights, Jane prepared her attack. Not wanting to ruin this for Jane and knowing that she couldn't lie if asked whether she'd seen Jane do it, Maura turned around and started messing with the dishes in the sink. Frankie finished speaking and a couple steps were taken before she heard Ian cry out followed by a thud.

Turning around, Jane was hugging her crutch and looking far more innocent than was necessary.

"What the hell?" Ian snapped as he was pulled to his feet. "Did you not see her trip me?"

"No, I did not," Maura responded, followed by a quick ditto by Frankie.

"Come on, let's get outta here," Frankie told him, pushing Ian out the door. Once it was shut, Maura shot Jane a frown.

"What? He asked for it," she grumbled.

"You didn't need to trip him," Maura said. "His face will be disfigured enough by now with as deep as that cut looked from an initial glance."

"Good."

"Jane…"

If it weren't for the humor in Maura's tone, Jane would have been worried by the use of just her name. However, being well-versed in "Maura" language Jane was well aware of the fact that Maura was just trying to admonish her in her own way despite not really minding what Jane was being admonished for.

"Yeah, yeah," Jane responded, grinning at her. Maura shook her head and laughed.

Everything felt all right again.

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**Part of my next chapter is written, but apparently I'm being plagued by insomnia and I can't sleep even when I'm trying so hard to. As such, I'm not exactly in my right mind and will probably hold off on finishing that chapter until I have a clearer idea of what I'm going to do with it. I apologize in advance if this takes some time.**

**In the meantime, drop me a review. I rather enjoy reading them...**


	10. Chapter 10

**Voila! A chapter I actually like!**

**I know, I know - roll up your jaws. I was shocked too when I realized I had a completed chapter waiting. I honestly hadn't expected to get one down but when you can't sleep... It was either this or refresh the fanfiction page every ten minutes to see if any new stories popped up...**

**Anyway, I hope you still enjoy this chapter.**

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On Sunday Jane called Emily to tell her to come and pick her up in the morning. Maura was still in the morgue doing an autopsy she was forced to go in for. Despite needing to be home with Jane for recovery, Maura had agreed to be on-call during the weekends now that Jane was more mobile and because she wasn't going to be doing any during the week with Jane's appointments. Earlier that morning, just before the call came in, they had been discussing whether Maura should return to work in full capacity since Jane had Emily to chauffeur her around now.

It was not a conversation Maura had enjoyed, especially when she couldn't come up with any reason that Jane shouldn't agree to the service and allow Maura to go to work again as needed other than the fact that she didn't want Emily to be Jane's new caretaker. That was her job, dammit, and she wanted to be there for Jane! It didn't seem fair that this attractive, young blond who made eyes at Jane every time she saw her was able to get her claws in Jane so quickly when it had taken her so long to get to that same zone with the brunette. Especially after Hoyt, though she was still the first person Jane came to regarding that man.

When Maura was still in the morgue with a stiff at ten o'clock on Sunday with no end in sight, though, she gave in and had Jane call Emily for a ride in the morning. After the phone call, she'd sulked all through the autopsy and up until she had slipped into her pajamas and into her bed next to Jane. Even after Ian had left Jane had stayed in her room. It hadn't been discussed and neither of them made a move to have Jane return to the guest room instead so they just stuck with the arrangement.

"How was the autopsy?" a sleepy Jane asked when she felt the bed dip and woke up a little.

"Mm. It wasn't that bad," Maura said softly, snuggling up in her comfortable with a sigh. "I still have to wait for some test results before I can definitively state the cause of death though."

Jane chuckled and shifted so that she was touching Maura's hip with her hand. "Get some sleep, babe." Maura hummed in response and closed her eyes with a content smile as Jane's breathing evened out again, followed by her loss of consciousness as she drifted off shortly afterwards.

Maura woke up alone in the morning. She had been expecting that, knowing that Jane would have shut off the alarm as soon as she was awake and not reset it so that it would wake Maura up to go to work herself. After the late night she had it was understandable that she'd sleep in a little late. Her eyes shifted to the clock and widened.

"It's almost ten!" she said, sounding mystified. She never slept that late anymore. Her internal clock would always wake up by eight even after late nights and when her alarm was turned off. She quickly got out of bed and prepared for her day. Going into the bathroom, she was surprised to see a small note taped up there.

_Maura,_

_Just thought I'd leave a note to let you know Emily's got me. When you wake up, send me a text message and maybe we can go get lunch later. Or, if you wake up early enough for whatever reason, perhaps we can get a coffee and pastry. I know how you love those Bavarian crème donuts no matter how much you deny it._

_I'll talk to you in a while._

_Jane_

Maura smiled and shook her head. Leave it to Jane to know things even when she tried to hide them. It was one of the things she admired most about the woman. She glanced back at the clock and sighed, part of her wishing that she had woken several hours ago so that she could indulge in one of the treats. Since it was too late for one now, though, she walked back to her room to get her phone and shoot Jane a text before setting the phone down and heading back to the bathroom to prepare for the day.

_Thank you for letting me sleep in this morning. I'd be happy to join you for lunch, your choice._

Jane grinned at the message before turning back to Emily, who had raised her eyebrow at her. "That was Maura letting me know she was up and wanted to join me for lunch," she explained as she clipped the phone to her side again. "So, you were explaining the sites to me?"

Emily frowned and turned back to the screen they were looking at, showing Jane how to work with the sites and officers through the programs there today. Generally she wouldn't be doing much in the program because most sites don't have a need for extra officers to be sent out but every once in a while it becomes a necessity. They continued to work for a few hours before Jane's phone rang and she was quick to answer it.

"Rizzoli."

"I thought I'd see if you were free for lunch yet or not," Maura's voice filtered through the phone.

Jane looked at Emily, who nodded. "I just got the go ahead from my sidekick. There's a little bistro just up the road. Would you like to meet there?"

"That sounds good to me. And invite Emily along, if she's interested."

That wasn't what Jane had wanted, but she didn't want to say anything about it. After the last couple days, Jane was hoping that Maura was starting to accept her feelings and had wanted to try and be a little more active in her wooing of the doctor. She glanced at Emily and grinned. "Hey, you want to join us for lunch, Em?"

Emily grinned back and nodded. "If you two don't mind, I would love to."

"Great, we'll meet you at the bistro then, Maura," Jane said into the receiver before hanging up. "Now, why don't we start heading that direction? I really don't want to have to bother with a car for such a short distance, and Maura's barely going to take as long as it would take us to walk there."

"Sounds good, boss."

The two women made their way outside and started in the direction of the bistro that was their goal, Jane hobbling along at a rather slow pace and Emily doing nothing more than keeping up with her stride. The brunette wanted to grumble over the fact that she still only had one crutch and had to put a bit of wait on her leg to walk. However, she didn't really feel like being less than pleasant around Emily, especially when her unpleasantness meant a possibility of being exposed by her weakness.

"Jane… I hope this isn't too forward of me, but would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?" Emily asked almost shyly as the bistro came into sight, causing Jane to freeze. A blue Prius that Jane easily recognized as Maura's pulled into a parking space a little farther up the road from the bistro, and Jane sighed as she contemplated how to break the news to Emily tactfully. As she looked at the younger woman, she realized that Emily hadn't noticed Maura yet. Maura emerged from the car and, seeing Jane's expression, stayed put and waited for them to continue forward.

"You're a great person," Jane said slowly, watching Emily's shoulders drop as she realized what Jane was going to say. "I enjoy your company, honest. And you are a very beautiful woman; I won't lie about that either. If circumstances were different, I'd say yes in a heartbeat."

"Maura's a very lucky woman," Emily said softly. Jane just nodded, not sure what to say to that. "I understand. I thought you two had a thing going, but you'd told me that you weren't together so I thought maybe I had a chance."

Jane shrugged. "I did kind of lead you on there, since you were pretty obvious about your attraction to me from the get-go. I'm not going to lie, I liked the attention." She offered Emily a gentle smile. "And you're pretty easy to like that way. Like I said, if things were different I definitely wouldn't have a problem with saying yes to a date, or several, with you."

"I guess I can get it," Emily said, smiling sadly as she looked at Maura. "She's very attractive, and you guys are best friends already. It almost makes sense that she'd be where your heart is first." She looked at Jane, meeting her eyes. "I'm not going to hold it against you. I mean, I like you and all but… I guess I wasn't too invested yet, so it's not too bad..."

Jane nodded and reached over to give Emily a gentle squeeze on her shoulder.

"Anyway, enjoy your lunch with Maura. I'm probably going to head back and do a few IT things that I need to get done. I might drop a few hints to my dense brother not to call your woman while I'm there," Emily said with a smirk. "He's convinced the only reason she hasn't called is because she's been waiting for you to get settled in."

That made Jane laugh, and Emily chuckled along with her. The blond turned to head back but Jane stopped her and leaned in to kiss her on the lips. It didn't take more than a couple seconds, but it was enough for Emily to really get a feel for it.

"Now you don't have to wonder," Jane said. "I don't think that will help, but at least you won't have to wonder."

Emily looked confused for a moment, her cheeks flushed, and then she seemed to catch up with herself and blushed as she dropped her eyes. "Thanks," she whispered. "Now I really need to go distract myself with IT work. Go enjoy lunch and call me if you need anything."

"You can count on it, partner," Jane said with a grin. She watched Emily walk off, and then turned around to see Maura frowning at her, arms crossed over her chest. "Oh boy," she mumbled as she started hobbling forward again. "Hey, Maura, how'd your morning go?"

Maura didn't seem to hear, or if she did she was doing a very good job of ignoring Jane as she walked up to the bistro doors and helped usher Jane inside and to a table without a word. They sat across of each other at a small round table off to one side, Jane's crutch getting propped up next to them on the wall. As soon as they were sitting, Maura had the menu up and in front of her face so that Jane couldn't even attempt to gain eye contact. A young man came by and took their orders after several minutes of silent browsing, and then Maura didn't have the menu to hide behind anymore.

"Come on, Maura, why are you ignoring me?" Jane whined.

Maura shot her a dirty look. "I thought you said you didn't like her."

"Huh? I don't like her, not like you're implying right now," Jane said, starting to feel defensive. "Maura, I'd just turned down dinner with her."

"So you felt like you needed to kiss her?"

"Hey, she might be going through a sexual identity crisis and my kiss may have awakened her inner lesbian," Jane tried to joke. Maura didn't look amused. "I felt bad, all right? She's a good kid and a pretty good friend." Jane shrugged and looked down at the hands in her lap, playing with her fingernails. "I just wanted to let her know, so she didn't just wonder. It's just one of those things you think about when you realize you're attracted to them. You want to know what it would be like to kiss them and to touch them."

Maura stayed silent while Jane spoke. She didn't like what had happened, but she couldn't say she didn't understand what she was saying. After all, Maura had wondered many times what Jane would feel and taste like.

"I still don't have to like it," Maura huffed, grateful when their sandwiches were placed in front of them. Jane's head lifted long enough to shoot the waiter a grateful grin, and then her eyes went straight to her plate. They ate lunch in silence, both reflecting this revelation.

Jane paid for lunch, arguing that it had been her idea to meet for lunch and then to eat here so she got to pay. Maura didn't really fight that, choosing instead to sulk a little longer in silence. Once their meal had been paid for, they got up and left the quaint bistro. Jane started hobbling towards the security firm building.

"Where are you going?" Maura asked, causing Jane to pause and turn a little.

"I'm heading to work for a couple hours, and then I was going to see if Emily would take me to therapy," Jane answered softly. She didn't want to face anymore of Maura's disappointment. That was a rejection in its own way.

Maura frowned and shook her head. "Get in the car, Jane. I'm going to take you home and when it's time for your therapy I'm taking you."

"But-"

"Don't argue, Jane," Maura said simply as she opened the passenger side door and waited with her eyebrows raised. Without an acceptable argument, Jane hobbled over and slid into the seat. Maura circled the car and slid into the driver's seat. Once the car was on and in gear, they drove forward and towards Maura's house in silence.

They were still silent as Maura pulled into her drive and sat there for a moment. She didn't know what exactly she wanted to say to Jane. Part of her felt betrayed by Jane's kiss with Emily, which seemed silly considering they weren't in a relationship for Jane to have betrayed, and the other part was stating quite loudly that she wanted to kiss Jane too.

"Maura, I didn't kiss her so that I would hurt you," Jane mumbled. "It wasn't even some low tactic where I used her to make you jealous. I don't want to influence your decision in anyway, because I told you that I wanted you to make your own decision. She is attractive, yes, but she doesn't come close to making my heart beat like you do. I want you, Maura, in every way, and I always have. I just… don't want you to be mad at me, that's all…"

Maura bit her lower lip, her mind racing. She heard but didn't really register Jane getting out of the car. It wasn't until she saw Jane walk across the front of the car towards the door that Maura sprang from the car and locked it quickly.

"Jane!"

Jane paused and turned to look at her.

Maura hesitated only a second, and then she rushed forward and caught Jane's mouth with her own, pressing their lips together almost roughly, her arms being thrown over the brunette's shoulders to pull her close. She felt one of Jane's arms snaking around her waist and resting on her lower back just above the curve of her ass and sighed into the kiss. She felt so relaxed against Jane, her mind both quiet and racing and her body thrumming with an energy she hadn't felt for a long time.

Jane pulled away first, needing to breathe almost desperately. Panting, she let her forehead rest against Maura's and her eyes stay closed as everything sank in.

"Maura…" she whispered, not sure if it was a statement or a question.

"I love you, Jane," Maura murmured. "God, how I love you…"

Jane smiled. "Why didn't you say something before?"

"I wanted you to focus on healing," Maura argued weakly. "I didn't want you to become even more upset because of things you couldn't do for me that I know you'd want to if we entered into a relationship. As it is, I wasn't even sure how much I truly loved you, desired you, romantically until I had to stand there and see you kiss some other woman. I don't think I've ever experienced such jealousy before in my entire life."

Jane chuckled and tilted her head to kiss Maura again, this time softer and almost lazy.

"It really didn't help that then you went on to explain about the kissing and the wondering, because then I was reminded of all the times I'd thought about your lips, or skin under my fingers, or your hands on me. It was almost agonizing trying to get through lunch with my thoughts racing over those ideas."

"I've been thinking about kissing you ever since I walked down onto a crime scene as a homicide detective and saw you standing there getting ready to go under the tape," Jane admitted, pulling the doctor against her for a hug. Maura sank against her with a sigh. "We should really head inside."

Maura hummed in content. "We should, you're right." Neither moved for a moment, until Maura felt Jane shift uncomfortably and prompted her to pull away with a sigh. "Come on; we should get you off your feet for a while until you have to go to PT."

Jane agreed, and they made their way inside.

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**So, what didja think? I wasn't expecting things to fall in line that way, but hey - it works.**

**I'm not done yet. You can think of this as the first arc over. I'm not 100% sure of what all I'm going to do, but I want to add some BPD scenes with the guys, and I want to throw in some Rizzoli family drama if I can put the events together. We'll see what happens, yeah?**

**Thank you all for being so awesome. And for drop kicking me for the negative notes I keep giving you. I hadn't realized how down I sounded until I reread everything... Man...**

**Drop me a line or two. I really enjoy reading the reviews. They always make me smile.**


	11. Chapter 11

**All right, it's short and I'm sorry for that. I just really wanted to get this out there, and then I couldn't come up with anything else to add to this chapter without making it sound forced. So, this is what you get. I'm sorry it's, like, half the length of the others but I'll see if I can get the next chapter to make up for it.**

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The next couple of hours became very interesting for Maura. She had forced Jane onto the couch and then went to the kitchen to get them both some water. It had been a warm day, and Jane had walked quite a ways in the heat earlier and needed to be rehydrated. With a glance at the clock, she also grabbed Jane's pills. It was still twenty minutes early, but the adrenaline from earlier would wear off soon enough and Jane would be feeling the effects of her walk.

However, once she was seated again, Jane had taken the items, put them on the coffee table, and pulled Maura against her to kiss her again. Maura certainly wasn't complaining, and quickly maneuvered so that their positions were a little more comfortable for a longer kiss and, she assumed, the make-out session Jane was surely trying to initiate.

Unfortunately they were interrupted when the door burst open and Angela walked in, causing Maura to jump away from Jane and to her feet to prepare for whoever had come into the house.

"Good afternoon, Angela," Maura greeted her with a nervous smile. It only became more nervous when she realized that Angela had that grin that said she knew something but was waiting for the perfect moment to bring it up.

"Good afternoon, Maura. How are you feeling, Jane?"

"Not too bad," Jane answered even as she pouted at Maura. She had been enjoying herself, and her Ma had to come in and interrupt just like she always did. Though, since she'd walked in on them once now so maybe they'd be safe when it came to bedroom activities. At that thought, Jane's pout slipped away and became a smirk as she fantasized about Maura. Her eyes trailed over Maura's figure, and when the doctor looked at her again she felt her cheeks warm as she realized where Jane's thoughts likely were.

Maura cleared her throat. "I'm about to get Jane ready for her physical therapy," she explained to Angela.

"Uh-huh…" Angela said, that grin growling mischievous. "It looked like you were doing quite a bit to get her worked up and ready."

"Ma!" Jane snapped, her head turning to the woman who was now walking to the kitchen and her cheeks bursting into a crimson color from the embarrassment. She wasn't sure why she was embarrassed, though. It could be from being caught with her lips locked to the other woman's, or most likely it was from the teasing tone and openness of the statement Angela had made. "Do you gotta say stuff like that? Really?"

"Of course I do!" Angela exclaimed before she quickly started looking for ingredients to get dinner started. "I think I'm going to make something different tonight. And I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to get all the boys out here for dinner tonight. We didn't really have our usual family dinner this weekend and I'd like to make up for it.

"Ma, no, we're not having family dinner here tonight," Jane answered. "I'm going to be pretty tired after my PT and I'm going to want to come straight back here and soak in Maura's bathtub. Besides, I'm not really ready to seen any of them. I'd like to be walking better if I can."

Angela looked like she was going to argue, but Maura looked at her and shook her head. "I think tonight wouldn't be a good night, either, Angela. I think if you wanted to have dinner the boys it would be best to host it in the guest house. However, I would think that perhaps on Sunday Jane will be ready for family dinner again. I can't guarantee it, but I think it would be a lot more plausible."

That seemed to placate the older woman, who simply nodded and looked at the ingredients she'd laid out. "I'll go ahead and get dinner ready for you two then at least. I'm sure you're going to be hungry after your physical therapy session, and I've got just the thing."

Jane smiled softly. "Thanks, Ma, for understanding."

Angela looked a little shocked, but quickly replaced it with a big smile. "Of course, Jane," she said softly. "However, as soon as you're ready, we are having a family dinner."

Jane grumbled, making a show of not wanting to, but both of the other women knew it was just that and smiled as Jane agreed.

_**After**_ physical therapy, Jane went straight to the bedroom and fell back onto the bed, swinging her leg up onto the bed so that it was supported somehow. She was in so much pain since the therapist decided if she could walk with just one crutch she could do a few more things to try and push the mobility of the knee. And then when they left Jane had a new set of crutches thrust towards her and strict instructions to use them.

"I think we should just amputate," Jane mumbled when she heard Maura walk into the room.

Maura helped her sit up and gave her some pain medicine and water. "I suppose if that's what you want, but you've been working hard to get your knee back in shape. It would be quite a shame to waste all of that effort, wouldn't it?"

Jane huffed. "You're dampening my efforts to whine, Maura."

"That was my intention, Jane."

Jane snorted and pulled the doctor down for a kiss, which Maura happily returned. "You are annoying, but I love you."

Maura playfully slapped Jane's abdomen before moving to Jane's other side and curling up next to her with a sigh. They lied together for a few minutes, Maura's nose nuzzling against Jane's neck and Jane's hand running through Maura's hair and rubbing her scalp, content in each other's company.

"I never really thought about it before," Maura murmured, "but I think we've always been a lot more tactile than most best friends."

Jane snorted. "That's because I found any excuse possible to touch you, even platonically. I just liked being able to show you affection in some way, you know? Well, that and I don't think I ever really noticed at first. And by the time I did notice it just seemed wrong to just stop. You never seemed to mind, so I didn't worry about it."

Maura hummed. "That makes sense." Then, with a resigned sigh, she said, "I should go get that dinner your mother made warmed up. You're going to need to eat soon now that you've taken your medicine. Would you like to get in the shower while I'm doing that?"

"I may as well. It won't take me too long, and after that session I probably smell rank." Maura chose not to comment, which Jane picked up on and narrowed her eyes. "You know, you can find some way to tell me I'm not that smelly."

The smile that appeared on Maura's lips was doubled in her eyes with amusement. "I would hate to risk going vasovagal, Jane," she teased. When Jane pouted, she laughed. "All right, you don't smell that bad. But I certainly wouldn't complain if you chose to shower. I'd be much more apt to cuddle during a movie of your choosing if you showered."

"Fine, I'll take a shower," Jane grumbled, though she really didn't mind the chore. She felt icky from all the exertion her body had gone through earlier and wanted to clean up at least a little. Sitting up and looking at her crutches with a sigh, she felt Maura sit up and move next to her and wrap an arm around her waist.

"It won't be that much longer before you won't need them, Jane," she said softly. "The therapist said you could move on to a cane in about a month, probably. And that's only as a precaution. We can even start to look for something badass, if you'd like."

Jane nodded. "I guess it's not so bad. And the only reason she's keeping me on them that long is because I'm so active, right?"

Maura nodded. "If you weren't going to be going to work and just sitting around the house she might have dropped at least a week. But I know you, and going another month of just sitting around the house would have driven you insane."

Another nod from Jane, this one a little absent. "Has… Has Cavanaugh said anything?"

Maura bit her lip and nodded against Jane's shoulder. "It's been a little while since we last spoke. He was trying to keep your job for you and just drop some of your duties, but apparently some of the more powerful figures are starting to see you as a liability and want you pulled. He's doing what he can, though, to either change their mind or make it as painless as possible."

Jane sighed and got up, situating on her crutches and going to the bathroom. Maura watched her until the door closed and then stood to go down to the kitchen. She had been expecting Jane to ask about that for a while now, and had hoped that by working at the security firm she'd be a little more receptive to the news, but that Jane was starting to shut her out. It shouldn't surprise her, since they'd gone from something pleasant to discussing her new disability and once again pointing out what she was going to have to deal with for the rest of her life.

Maura put dinner in the oven to warm up and set about putting together a couple of other side dishes that would be healthy additions and then setting up the table. It wasn't very often that they ate there in recent weeks, and she was hoping that by sitting at the table they could add a little more intimacy to the meal. She was hoping to go back to where they were before Jane's injury was brought to the forefront again in the bedroom.

The table was finally set when Jane emerged in a new pair of shorts and a tank top. She looked at Maura with confusion and then grinned.

"So, the table, huh?" she asked.

Maura nodded and smiled shyly. "I was hoping that maybe we could think of it as a sort of… date, I suppose. Sitting at the table seemed a little more intimate than the couch or counter."

"It's perfect," Jane said, closing the distance quickly and kissing Maura. It wasn't a chaste kiss, but it wasn't very involved either. The kiss merely conveyed her appreciation for what Maura was doing for her and the love she had for the woman for this and more. "Let's eat, shall we?"

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**Thank you all so much for your continued support. I'm pretty excited about how many people I've got reading this. I should be winding down soon, because if I don't come up with a conclusion soon this story will never end and then I'll end up forgetting about it. That's not to say that the next chapter will be the end. I will probably drag it out a few more chapters, because Jane's still in recovery and I'm not done pushing her buttons.**

**For instance, there's still her family to deal with. :D**

**I did want to ask for you opinion - I want something to set Jane off during the "Family Dinner" that I'll be having in the next chapter or two. What do you guys think I should do?**

**Hit me up with your thoughts and ideas. I look forward to reading them!**


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